[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events - October 29, 2017
gmoke
gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Oct 29 10:58:42 PDT 2017
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) EventsGeo
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-i-do-and-why-i-do-it.html
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Details of these events are available when you scroll past the index
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Index
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Monday, October 30 – Tuesday, October 31
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8:30am MIT Legal Forum on AI & Blockchain
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Monday, October 30
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12pm PAOC Colloquium: Nathan Steiger (LDEO)
12pm Probing Antarctica’s Glacial History with Geo- and Thermo-chronology
12pm HouseZero: A First-of-its-kind, Ultra-efficient Retrofit
12:15pm How Much Poison is Too Much? Calculating Hazard in International Nutrition Programs and Commodity Trade
4pm Responsive Science: A Path towards faster, safer, community-guided research
4pm Colonization Road - Film Screening
4:15pm The Decline of International and European Rule of Law
5pm SPI Student Panel on the Future of Transportation
5:30pm Blue skies over Beijing: Economic Growth and the Environment in urban China
6pm The People Behind the Polls: Story of the American Voter
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Tuesday, October 31
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9:30am Short stories in genomics and environmental health: Bernardo Lemos, PhD, Assistant Professor of Environmental Epigenetics, MIPS, HSPH
12pm The March for Science: How a viral moment starts a movement
12pm Gutman Library Distinguished Author Series: When Grit Isn't Enough: A High School Principal Examines How Poverty and Inequality Thwart the College-for-All Promise
1pm SolarWakeup Live! Boston
3pm Waste Alliance Lecture Series: Sanergy: Building better sanitation infrastructure in Kenya
4pm Black United Front Politics and the Police State
6pm "Said Negro has been guilty of theft and many misdemeanors”: Fugitive Slave Advertisements as Imperial Infrastructure in late Eighteenth- and early Nineteenth-Century Canada and Jamaica”
7pm Terry Virts - View From Above: An Astronaut Photographs the World
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Wednesday, November 1
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11:30am Mens et Manus America: US Tax Reform: Options and Impediments
12pm SLS Seminar: How the subpolar gyre shaped the North Atlantic and European climate during the Little Ice Age
12pm The United States and Eurasia in the Post-Post-Cold War World
1pm Promoting Parks as a Resource for Health
2pm Preventing Nuclear Terrorism Working Group Inaugural Meeting
3:30pm Does Neighborhood-Scale Urban Form Influence Non-Motorized Transport in China? Toward Walkable Low-Carbon Cities
4pm Fives Scarves: Doing the Impossible—If We Can Reverse Cell Fate, Why Can’t We Redefine Success for Women?
4:15pm Willingness to Pay for Clean Air in China
4:15pm German Post-Election Analysis: Implications for Germany and Europe
4:30pm Starr Forum: Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes
5pm How Could Machines Learn as Efficiently as Animals and Humans?
5:15pm Journeys: Bridging the Us/Them Divide in the Global Refugee Crisis
6pm Erik Gehring presents Trees of Boston
6pm Understanding Trump's America
6pm Data Science for All: It's a Whole New Game
6:30pm Women in Global Social Enterprise
7pm Signs of Hope: Messages from Subway Therapy
7pm Cass R. Sunstein - impeachment
7pm Catching the Sun: Award-Winning Documentary about Jobs in Solar Energy
7pm What Genes Cannot Tell: The role of epigenetics in determining who we are
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Thursday, November 2
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8:30am 2017 Social Innovator Encore
11:45am Moving into the Mainstream? Human Rights as the "S" in ESG Investing
12pm Natural gas: Turning a dead end into an off-ramp
12pm What's New on the Science and Policy of Solar Geoengineering?
12pm Transnational Terorist Networks: The Case of Boko Haram
3pm Japan Innovation Night
3:30pm Transforming a City: Leading Change in Urban Sri Lanka
4pm The Ecology of Collective Behavior
4pm Black Maps
4pm Functional Hybrid Nanomaterials: From Fundamentals to Applications
4:15pm Does the Left Have a Future?
5pm Just Machine Learning
6pm Committing to Climate Action: A SENDOFF TO THE 2017 UN CLIMATE TALKS
7pm Shallow Graves: The Hunt for the New Bedford Highway Serial Killer at the Boston Public Library
7pm Ethno-Erotic Economies: Sexuality, Money, and Belonging in Kenya
7pm Tooning in to Conservation
7pm Faculty Speaker Series: Invisible Chefs, Roberto Kolter
7pm Conservation of Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks in Costa Rica
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Friday, November 3 – Sunday, November 5
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MIT Energy Hackathon 2017
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Friday, November 3
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12pm Atmospheric & Environmental Chemistry Seminar
6pm People Govern Not Money! Celebration and Support
7pm TEDxBeaconStreet 2017 Escape Velocity Party
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Saturday, November 4 - Sunday, November 5
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TEDxBeaconStreet
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Saturday, November 4
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9am Presidential First Use of Nuclear Weapons: Is it Legal? Is it Constitutional? Is it Just?
11am Design for Social Impact
11am Allston Fixit Clinic
11am Design for Social Impact
1:30pm Archimedes, Galileo & the Revolution in Problem Solving
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Sunday, November 5
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11am Sustainability Student Leaders Symposium @ Emerson College
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Monday, November 6 - Tuesday, November 7
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The Agriculture, Nutrition, Health, and the Environment in Africa conference
MIT Water Summit: Water & Food Nexus
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Monday, November 6
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8am Striving for Zero Waste at Colleges & Universities
12pm PAOC Colloquium: Trude Storelvmo (Yale)
12pm Fighting for Access to Justice in the Halls of Congress: Reps. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) & Susan W. Brooks (R-IN) on Civil Legal Aid
12pm Malkit Shoshan, “Border Ecologies”
12:10pm Digital Farming: Exploring the Intersection of Computation, Biology, and Photography at the MIT Media Lab
12:15pm Privacy Default(s) by Design? Personal Data in Cybersecurity Information Sharing
12:30pm On a World Climate Assembly and the Social Cost of Carbon
12:30pm Affordable Housing & Modernist Architecture
12:30pm Conversations on Environmental Justice: Pedagogy and Practice
4pm Why is Housing So Expensive?!
5:30pm Stephen Wolfram, in Conversation with Howard Gardner: What Is the Best Education in Mathematical Thinking for the 21st Century?
6pm MIT Solve: Student Challenge Design Workshop!
7pm An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice
7pm The Future of Nature: What is the Future of Science?
7pm Is political correctness why Trump won?
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Tuesday, November 7
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11:45am Reimagining Sustainability at AB InBev: Chief Procurement & Sustainability Officer Tony Milikin
12pm Alexandra Petri – Satire and Comedy in the Age of Trump
12pm Understanding Political Polarization in the US
12pm What should the course catalog look like in the 21st century? Leveraging data and design for course selection and discovery
12pm Fixing Our Broken Sleep
2pm Computational Ecosystems: Tech-enabled Communities to Advance Human Values at Scale
3pm Marvin Kalb
4pm The Migrant Passage: Survival Plays and Clandestine Journeys from Central America
5:30pm Built Positive Greenbuild Reception
5:30pm Launch Smart Clinic – Digital Health
6pm Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter
6pm Resilience & Our Built Environment
6pm Smart Cities - Utility
7pm The Big Push: Exposing and Challenging the Persistence of Patriarchy
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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
Dystopia by Algorithm
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/10/27/1710467/-Dystopia-by-Algorithm
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Monday, October 30 – Tuesday, October 31
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MIT Legal Forum on AI & Blockchain
Monday, October 30, 8:30 AM – Tuesday, October 31, 4:00 PM EDT
MIT Media Lab, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-legal-forum-on-ai-blockchain-tickets-37953670450
About the Event: The inaugural MIT Legal Forum on AI & Blockchain mission is to provide a forum for legal scholars, practitioners, technologists and business professionals to (A) discuss the current and likely future impact of AI and blockchain technologies on the law, and (B) develop an initial framework for the evaluation, prioritization and practical application of AI and blockchain technologies to the law.
Register through this EventBrite page to receive email invitations with links to live streams and Twitter hashtags for plenary sessions and panel discussions of the MIT Legal Forum. To be a full online or in-person conference contributor in MIT Legal Forum breakout groups, workshops, learning sessions and other activities request an invitation through this Google Form: https://goo.gl/forms/unO3Do94Mi04bItH2
For more information on Legal Forum speakers, topics and activities check out: http://MITLegalForum.org
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Monday, October 30
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PAOC Colloquium: What caused the Medieval megadroughts of western North America?
Monday, October 30
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-923,21 Ames Street, Cambridge
The apparent clustering of decadal-scale megadroughts prior to circa 1600 is one of the most prominent features of the drought record in much of North America. These droughts are seen clearly in the tree ring-based North American Drought Atlas as well as in several independent lines of geological evidence. Despite their prominence, the causes of such megadroughts and their clustering are not well-understood. The difficulty in understanding these megadroughts is due largely to the lack of long-term climate dynamics information that is physically consistent with reconstructions of past hydroclimate. Here I will diagnose the dynamical causes of the Medieval megadroughts of western North America using a data assimilation-based reconstruction; this technique works by optimally combining proxies with climate models to reconstruct both hydroclimate fields and the corresponding atmosphere-ocean states. Using these reconstructions, I will discuss tests of prominent hypotheses about the dynamical causes of megadroughts and their clustering in the Medieval period. I will focus particularly on hypotheses relating to changes in local climate, shifts in the mean state of the tropical Pacific or the Atlantic, and changes in the frequency of occurrence of La Nina-like states in the Pacific.
About the Speaker
Nathan John Steiger is a NOAA Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellow at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. His work engages the fundamental problem of understanding the historical variability of the climate system and its relevance to human societies. In particular, he conducts research on the physical mechanisms of severe droughts as well as Arctic and Antarctic climate variability.
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Probing Antarctica’s Glacial History with Geo- and Thermo-chronology
Monday, October 30
12:00PM
Harvard, Haller Hall (102), Geo Museum, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
with Sidney R. Hemming, Lamont-Doherty, Columbia University.
Abstract: Antarctica’s geologic history yields a patchwork of “ages” that can be used as tracers of sediments eroded from these sources. Characterization of these sedimentary products has demonstrated the promise of this approach, and has emphasized the need to apply multiple tools to “see through” lithological biases. Applications of these tracers to sedimentary sequences tapped by International Ocean Discovery Program and its predecessors has revealed dynamic behavior of the ice sheet in the past. Additionally, geochronology of on-land and off-shore sedimentary deposits informs our understanding of past ice sheet history. Hemming will highlight some examples of using geo- and thermochronology to better understand Antarctica’s glacial history in the Cenozoic
EPS Colloquium
https://eps.harvard.edu/event/department-colloquium-series-33
Contact Name: Milena Perez
aperez02 at fas.harvard.edu
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HouseZero: A First-of-its-kind, Ultra-efficient Retrofit
Monday, October 30
12:00PM TO 1:30PM
Harvard, Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Ali Malkawi, Professor of Architectural Technology and Founding Director of the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities.
Energy Policy Seminar
https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/cepr/seminar.html#fall2017
Lunch is provided.
Contact Name: Louisa Lund
louisa_lund at hks.harvard.edu
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How Much Poison is Too Much? Calculating Hazard in International Nutrition Programs and Commodity Trade
Monday, October 30
12:15PM TO 2:00PM
Harvard, Room 100F, Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
with Lucas Mueller (MIT HASTS).
The STS Circle at Harvard is a group of doctoral students and recent PhDs who are interested in creating a space for interdisciplinary conversations about contemporary issues in science and technology that are relevant to people in fields such as anthropology, history of science, sociology, STS, law, government, public policy, and the natural sciences. We want to engage not only those who are working on intersections of science, politics, and public policy, but also those in the natural sciences, engineering, and architecture who have serious interest in exploring these areas together with social scientists and humanists.
There has been growing interest among graduate students and postdocs at Harvard in more systematic discussions related to STS. More and more dissertation writers and recent graduates find themselves working on exciting topics that intersect with STS at the edges of their respective home disciplines, and they are asking questions that often require new analytic tools that the conventional disciplines don’t necessarily offer. They would also like wider exposure to emerging STS scholarship that is not well-represented or organized at most universities, including Harvard. Our aim is to try to serve those interests through a series of activities throughout the academic year.
Sandwich lunch is provided. RSVP required.
STS Circle at Harvard
http://sts.hks.harvard.edu/events/sts_circle/
The Harvard STS Circle is co-sponsored by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
sts at hks.harvard.edu
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Responsive Science: A Path towards faster, safer, community-guided research
Monday, October 30
4pm
MIT, Building E51, Wong Auditorium, Tang Center, 2 Amherst Street, (70 Memorial Drive), Cambridge
Kevin Esvelt, Leading Sculpting Evolution Group, Assistant Professor, MIT Media Lab
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Colonization Road - Film Screening
WHEN Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Doris and Ted Lee Gathering Room (SO30, concourse level), CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Film, Humanities, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Canada Program, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Harvard University Native American Program
SPEAKER(S) Ryan McMahon, Anishinaabe comedian, filmmaker, community activator
COST free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO canada at wcfia.harvard.edu
DETAILS
FILM SCREENING
COLONIZATION ROAD
In conversation with RYAN McMAHON, Anishinaabe comedian, writer, media make, and community activist
Brief reception to follow.
Cosponsored by the Graduate School of Design and in collaboration with the Harvard University Native American Program
LINK https://programs.wcfia.harvard.edu/canada_program/event/canada-program-special-event-7
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The Decline of International and European Rule of Law
WHEN Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, 4:15 – 6:15 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Center for European Studies, 27 Kirkland Street, Hoffmann Room, Adolphus Busch Hall at Cabot Way, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Center for European Studies
SPEAKER(S) Georg Nolte
Chairman UN's International Law Commission; Chair: José Manuel Martinez Sierra
Jean Monnet ad Personam Professor in EU Law and Government;
CONTACT INFO José Manuel Martinez Sierra
jose_martinez at harvard.edu
LINK https://ces.fas.harvard.edu/events/2017/10/the-decline-of-the-international-and-european-rule-of-law
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SPI Student Panel on the Future of Transportation
Monday, October 30
5:00pm to 7:00pm
MIT, Building 2-190, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
For the first time, the MIT Science Policy Initiative (SPI) is hosting a non-faculty researcher panel event on October 30th from 5pm-7pm in 2-190. The topic of the panel is the future of transportation. Dinner will be provided. Panelists include:
Hillary Abraham, a research associate at the MIT AgeLab who studies how drivers interact with and come to trust (or not trust) driver assistance systems.
Zach Needell, a graduate student in the Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Transportation at MIT, who researches how infrastructure influences the transportation decisions individuals make as well as the cumulative effect of those individual decisions.
Parker Vascik, a doctoral student in aeronautics and astronautics who studies the technological, regulatory, and economic feasibility of urban aerial point-to-point transportation.
Wei Wei, graduate student in the Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Transportation at MIT, who researches the impact of transportation choices on energy consumption and emissions.
Panelists will discuss the different paths transportation could take moving forward as well as take questions from the audience. We hope to see you there!
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Blue skies over Beijing: Economic Growth and the Environment in urban China
Monday, October 30
5:30pm
MIT, Building E19-319, 400 Main Street, Cambridge
RSVP at
Dinner will be served.
Siqi Zheng, an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Presentation Abstract: “Blue skies over Beijing: Economic Growth and the Environment in urban China“
Focusing on day-to-day choices made by the nation's citizens, families, and government, Siqi Zheng examines how Chinese urbanites are increasingly demanding cleaner living conditions and considers where China might be headed in terms of sustainable urban growth.
Presenter Bio: Siqi Zheng
Siqi Zheng is the Samuel Tak Lee Associate Professor at MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning and Center for Real Estate. Her field of specialization is urban and environmental economics, urban development and the real estate market, with a special focus on China.
She has published in many peer reviewed English journals including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Journal of Economic Literature, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Journal of Economic Geography, European Economic Review, Journal of Urban Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Transportation Research Part A, Environment and Planning A, Ecological Economics, Journal of Regional Science, Real Estate Economics, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics. A book she has co-authored, Blue Skies over Beijing: Economic Growth and the Environment in China (Princeton University Press) was published in May 2016. She has also published more than 100 papers and two books in Chinese. She is the Associate Editor of Journal of Economic Surveys, and is on the editorial board of Journal of Housing Economics and International Real Estate Review. She is the Vice General Secretary of the Global Chinese Real Estate Congress and sits on the board of the Asian Real Estate Society.
Prior to coming to MIT, she was a professor and the director of Hang Lung Center for Real Estate at Tsinghua University, China.
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The People Behind the Polls: Story of the American Voter
WHEN Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, 6 – 7:15 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, JFK Jr. Forum, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Institute of Politics
Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) Tony Fabrizio, Partner, Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, Chief Pollster, Donald J. Trump Presidential Campaign
Margie Omero, Democratic Pollster, Co-host of The Pollsters Podcast
Mark Penn, President and Managing Partner, The Stagwell Group, Visiting Lecturer, Harvard College, Chairman, Harris Poll
John Della Volpe (Moderator), Director of Polling, Institute of Politics, Harvard Kennedy School, Founder and CEO, SocialSphere, Inc
CONTACT INFO JFK Jr. Forum Office
617-495-1380
LINK http://iop.harvard.edu/forum/people-behind-polls-story-american-voter
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Tuesday, October 31
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Short stories in genomics and environmental health: Bernardo Lemos, PhD, Assistant Professor of Environmental Epigenetics, MIPS, HSPH
WHEN Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m.
WHERE Harvard School of Public Health, Building I, Room 1302, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston
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The March for Science: How a viral moment starts a movement
Tuesday, October 31
12:00 pm
Harvard, Wasserstein Hall, Milstein East C, Room 2036, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP required to attend in person at https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/2017/luncheon/10/Weinberg#RSVP
Event will be live webcast at 12:00 pm at https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/2017/luncheon/10/Weinberg
featuring public health researcher and educator Caroline Weinberg, MD, MPH
The March for Science is a global movement focused on promoting science and its role in society and policy. That movement can be traced back to January 24, where in a five hour period @sciencemarchdc went from a few dozen followers to tens of thousands, growing exponentially in the following weeks. The idea for a March for Science went viral before any plan was in place, passionate supporters ready to act when all we had was the name. As we look to learn from the experience of the march -- the triumphs and the struggles -- it's worth discussing how MFS and future movements can harness the incredible, unexpected passion for a cause into a lasting movement.
About Caroline
Caroline Weinberg, MD, MPH, is a public health researcher and educator, with a focus on social determinants of health and increased health literacy as a means of improving health outcomes in under-served communities. Since 2002, she has also worked as a health educator with an emphasis on reproductive health and healthy relationships in adolescents.
In 2017, her frustration with the persistent and pervasive anti-science policies that jeopardize our present and future led to her involvement in the March for Science, a global movement focused on promoting the role of science in society and policy. She served as the National Co-Chair for the March for Science, culminating in the largest science event in history and uniting more than one million people in 600 locations worldwide. She currently serves as a director of the March for Science organization, working with a dynamic team of science advocates around the globe to transition from a powerful moment to a lasting movement.
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Gutman Library Distinguished Author Series: When Grit Isn't Enough: A High School Principal Examines How Poverty and Inequality Thwart the College-for-All Promise
WHEN Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Gutman Conference Center - Area 3, 6 Appian Way, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Gutman Library
SPEAKER(S) Linda Nathan
DETAILS When Grit Isn't Enough, examines major myths informing education and explores how educators can better serve students, increase college retention rates, and develop alternatives to college that don't disadvantage students on the basis of race or income.
In her book, Linda Nathan, founder and co-headmaster of the urban high school, Boston Arts Academy (BAA), reflects on the assumptions she herself has perpetuated about education: that college is for all, that hard work and determination are enough to get you through, that America is a land of equality.
Seeing a rift between these false promises and the lived experiences of her students, she argues that it is time for educators to face these uncomfortable issues head on and ask the tough questions:
How can colleges better acknowledge and address institutional racism and increase retention rates?
And for those who sought a career without college, how could high school have paved an alternate path to success?
Lunch will be served.
LINK http://www.beacon.org/When-Grit-Isnt-Enough-P1289.aspx
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SolarWakeup Live! Boston
Tuesday, October 31
1:00 PM – 6:00 PM EDT
CIC Cambridge - Havana Room, 1 Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/solarwakeup-live-boston-tickets-38163000562
Cost: $75
SolarWakeup Live! Boston will feature four (4) in-depth conversations about the local solar startup eco-system, venture capital and the new SMART solar program. We will also be speaking about the pending 201 petition issue as the news come out of the ITC hearing in Washington DC. Bringing together the market participants and leaders to engage in a discussion about growing solar in Massachusetts. All interviews are hosted by Yann Brandt, the editor of the daily SolarWakeup newsletter.
Speakers and Topics Include
Senator Joseph Boncore, representing First Suffolk and Middlesex, is the sponsor of S. 1824 which raises the net metering caps and expands the solar market in MA.
Michael Judge, Director of RE at MA DOER, about the departments work on the upcoming SMART program, how it was designed and will be implemented.
Daniel Hullah, Managing Director at GE Ventures, about corporate venture capital, technology and the best way for startups to attract capital.
Jon Abe, CEO at SunWealth, about how to finance small C&I solar projects and raising money through their social impact funds.
Limited number of sponsorships are available and tickets will sell out very quickly.
The event is co-hosted by CIC Cambridge, for which we are very grateful.
Speaker Bios:
Michael Judge, Director of Renewable Energy at DOER
Michael Judge has served as the Director of the Renewable and Alternative Energy Division at the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) since 2015. As Director, Michael manages the Division as it designs and implements renewable and alternative energy policy and programs for the Commonwealth. Before his appointment as Director, he served in various other roles at DOER, primarily related to the management of the state’s RPS and solar programs. Prior to his time at DOER, he worked at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center on the implementation and administration of its solar rebate programs. He is a graduate of UMass Amherst.
Daniel Hullah, Managing Director at GE Ventures
Daniel joined GE Ventures’ Boston office as a Managing Director in 2016, and is focused on in investing in the energy and industrial IoT sectors. He has spent the past 11 years as a venture capital investor as a Partner at RockPort Capital and most recently as Director, Ventures at National Grid in Waltham, MA. He also worked for RePower, a RockPort portfolio company in the residential solar space. He has led investments across the sector including solar, energy efficiency, power electronics, agricultural biotechnology, and energy storage. Daniel grew up in the UK and has a BA in Chemistry and a D.Phil in Physical Chemistry from the University of Oxford and an MBA from INSEAD. He lives in Somerville, MA with his wife and three boys.
Jon Abe, CEO of SunWealth
Jon is CEO and Founder of Sunwealth, which specializes in financing and managing commercial solar projects across the U.S. Jon is a clean energy executive, project developer, financier, and asset manager with deep commercial scale transaction experience. Previously, Jon was a Senior Vice President at Nexamp, where he served as the head of business development, asset management, and policy. At Nexamp, Jon supported the development and financing of more than 40 MW of commercial-scale solar projects. He was also General Manager of Nexamp Capital, which controlled a diverse portfolio of solar assets. Additionally, Jon worked for the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust where he developed and managed the $68 million Commonwealth Solar program. Jon holds a BA from Cornell University.
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Waste Alliance Lecture Series: Sanergy: Building better sanitation infrastructure in Kenya
Tuesday, October 31
3:00pm
MIT, E40-163, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, One Amherst Street, Cambridge
RSVP at trashiscash at mit.edu
David Auerbach is a co-founder of Sanergy, a social enterprise incubated at MIT and then launched in Nairobi, Kenya in 2011. Sanergy provides safe sanitation services for residents of urban slums and quality agricultural inputs for farmers. David will be visiting from Nairobi, and so come hear Sanergy's founding story, updates on its growth, future plans, and their opportunities for students!
Want to learn more? Check them out at saner.gy
This event is brought to you by the MIT Waste Alliance and the Sloan Entrepreneurs for International Development (SEID), with support from the GSC Funding Board.
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Black United Front Politics and the Police State
WHEN Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Robinson Hall, Lower Library, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops, Education, Humanities
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Charles Warren Center's Workshop on Crime and Punishment in American History
SPEAKER(S) Garrett Felber (University of Mississippi)
LINK https://warrencenter.fas.harvard.edu/event/felber
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"Said Negro has been guilty of theft and many misdemeanors”: Fugitive Slave Advertisements as Imperial Infrastructure in late Eighteenth- and early Nineteenth-Century Canada and Jamaica”
WHEN Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, 6 – 7 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge Street, Bowie-Vernon Room (K262), Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Seminar on Cultural Politics, Chair: Professor Panagiotis Roilos
SPEAKER(S) Charmaine A. Nelson, William Lyon Mackenzie King Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies, Canada Program. Professor of Art History, Department of Art History and Communication Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
CONTACT INFO Ilana Freedman (ifreedman at g.harvard.edu)
DETAILS Found throughout the Transatlantic World, fugitive slave advertisements demonstrate the ubiquity of African resistance to slavery. Produced by white slave owners seeking to recapture their runaways, standardized icons of enslaved males and females became a staple of such print advertisements. However, the more complex textual descriptions were also fundamentally visual and arguably comprise an archive of unauthorized “portraits” that have sadly come to stand as “the most detailed descriptions of the bodies of enslaved African Americans available.” (Graham White and Shane White, 1995, p. 49). Besides noting things like names, speech, accents, language, and skills, fugitive notices frequently recounted the dress (hairstyles, adornment, clothing etc.), branding, scarification, mannerisms, physical habits, and even the gestures and expressions of runaways. Recalling fugitive slave advertisements as a form of visual culture, this paper positions them as one part of the colonial infrastructure and network (including slave owners, printers, and jailers) that sustained the racialized distinction between free and unfree populations. This paper shall also highlight the ways in which the advertisements inadvertently disclosed the ingenuity, persistence, bravery, and intelligence of the enslaved and the brutality and callousness of the enslavers; an unintended consequence which in time would be taken up by abolitionists and used against the slave owning classes.
LINK https://wcfia.harvard.edu/event/cultural-politics-seminar-9-14-17
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Terry Virts - View From Above: An Astronaut Photographs the World
Tuesday, October 31
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EDT
Harvard Coop, 1400 Mass Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/terry-virts-view-from-above-an-astronaut-photographs-the-world-tickets-38062934261
A NASA astronaut and distinguished space photographer who spent more than seven months off the planet presents his astonishing aerial images of Earth, along with captivating tales of life at the edge of the atmosphere.
Astounding photographs of our world from outer space and edge-of-your-seat stories of survival in orbit--including close collegiality with Russian cosmonauts--make this a dazzling, personal account of living on the space shuttle. Few people get the experience of seeing the world from outer space--and no one has taken as many pictures of Earth from above as Terry Virts. Celebrated NASA astronaut, pilot of the space shuttle, crew member on Soyuz, and commander of the International Space Station, Virts has spent more than 200 days in space--and very few of those days went by without his reaching for his camera.
About the Author
Astronaut TERRY VIRTS grew up in Columbia, Maryland, outside of Baltimore. He wanted to be an astronaut ever since he read his first book about the Apollo missions when he was in kindergarten. He earned a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from the United States Air Force Academy in 1989, and a master of aeronautical science degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Selected by NASA in 2000, he was the pilot of STS-130 mission aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour. In March 2015, Virts assumed command of the International Space Station, and spent over 200 days on it. Virts is one of the stars of the new IMAX film, A Beautiful Planet, released in April 2016.
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Wednesday, November 1
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Mens et Manus America: US Tax Reform: Options and Impediments
Wednesday, November 1
11:30am to 1:00pm
MIT, Building E51-345, 70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
The Trump Administration and Congress are gearing up for a broad overhaul of the U.S. tax code. MIT Professors Michelle Hanlon (Sloan) and James Poterba (Economics) share their deep expertise to clarify the issues at stake as well as the implications for small and large businesses and for households that range in socio-economic status.
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SLS Seminar: How the subpolar gyre shaped the North Atlantic and European climate during the Little Ice Age
Wednesday, November 1
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-915, 21 Ames Street, Cambridge
Eduardo Moreno-Chamarro (MIT)
The cold climate conditions that are reconstructed in the North Atlantic/Arctic and European regions during the Little Ace Age (LIA; c. 16th–18th centuries) have commonly been associated with variations in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation or North Atlantic Oscillation. The prevailing explanation assumed that the Gulf Stream, as a sort of warm-water-heating system for Europe, failed or weakened during the LIA, causing the cooling. Newer reconstructions of paleoceanographic changes during the LIA do not fully support this hypothesis, as they suggest, instead, a more important role of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre. In this seminar, I will discuss some recent advances in our understanding of the gyre dynamics during the LIA, thanks to a combination of proxy data and climate model simulations of the past millennium. Additionally, I will explore the role of the volcanic eruptions in the onset of these anomalous climate conditions.
About the Series
The Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate Sack Lunch Seminar Series is an informal seminar series within PAOC that focuses on more specialized topics than the PAOC Colloquium. Seminar topics include all research concerning the science of atmosphere, ocean and climate. The seminars usually take place on Wednesdays from 12-1pm in 54-915. The presentations are either given by an invited speaker or by a member of PAOC and can focus on new research or discussion of a paper of particular interest.
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The United States and Eurasia in the Post-Post-Cold War World
Wednesday, November 1
12:00-1:30pm
MIT, Building E40-496, Pye Room, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
John Van Oudenaren
This paper will discuss ways in which the United States will or may be forced to relate to Eurasia under conditions of post-post-cold war multipolarity and the passing of illusions about liberal hegemony and an American-dominated liberal international order. The paper will reflect on past historical experience, ranging from classic American continentalism to the redefinition by Mahan, Spykman, and others of the United States as an "island" in relation to Eurasia, to U.S. interventions in the two world wars and debates during the cold war about the level of U.S. engagement required to maintain a balance of power in Eurasia. The paper will conclude with speculations about the future of the "illiberal liberal international order" and what it means for U.S. interests.
John Van Oudenaren is director of Scholarly and Educational Programs at the Library of Congress and acting director of the World Digital Library (www.wdl.org). Prior to joining the Library in 1996, he was a senior researcher at RAND in Santa Monica, California and director of RAND's European office in Delft, the Netherlands. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his A.B. in Germanic Languages and Literature from Princeton University.
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Promoting Parks as a Resource for Health
Wednesday, November 1
1–2 pm
HSPH, FXB Building, G-13, 651 Huntington Avenue, Boston
Captain Sara Newman, Director, Office of Public Health for the National Park Service will present as part of our lunch-time Sustainability Leadership Series.
Lunch provided.
About the Sustainability Leadership Series:
This fall, the Center for Health and the Global Environment in partnership with the Harvard Office for Sustainability will be hosting a 4-part Sustainability for Health Leadership Series. Beginning on October 11, and running through November 1, this speaker series will introduce attendees to pressing issues and opportunities faced by cutting-edge business leaders that navigate the intersection of industry, government, public health and sustainability. Join us to hear about the importance of making the connection between people, their health, and their surroundings.
Oct 18 - Liz York, Associate Director of Quality and Sustainability at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Oct 25 - Ory Zik, Co-founder & Executive Director, Greenometry
Nov 1 - Captain Sara Newman, Director, Office of Public Health, National Park Service
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Preventing Nuclear Terrorism Working Group Inaugural Meeting
Wednesday, November 1
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EDT
1 Brattle Square, 3rd Floor, Conference Room 350, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/preventing-nuclear-terrorism-working-group-inaugural-meeting-tickets-39019022948
CHAIRS: Matthew Bunn and William H. Tobey
We would like to invite you to the inaugural meeting of the Belfer Center’s Preventing Nuclear Terrorism Working Group. Since the nuclear security summit process ended, we have seen a nuclear security leadership deficit develop, efforts to strengthen international cooperation decline, and momentum behind reducing risks wane. The purpose of the group will be to address these challenges by providing opportunities for colleagues to update and coordinate with each other on projects, hear presentations from outside experts, and develop new ideas and plans for reducing nuclear terrorism risks. The first meeting on Wednesday, November 1 from 2-330pm, will aim to help us develop a common understanding of each other’s projects. Participants will briefly discuss what they are working on currently related to preventing nuclear terrorism, and what plans they have for the coming academic year in this space. We’ll also entertain ideas for future directions the working group may take.
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Does Neighborhood-Scale Urban Form Influence Non-Motorized Transport in China? Toward Walkable Low-Carbon Cities
Wednesday, November 1
3:30PM TO 4:45PM
Harvard, Pierce 100F, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
The Harvard-China Project hosts Guan Chenghe, Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard-China Project; Research Fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Design
China Project Seminar
https://chinaproject.harvard.edu/event/guan20171025
Contact Name: Tiffany Chan
tiffanychan at seas.harvard.edu
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Fives Scarves: Doing the Impossible—If We Can Reverse Cell Fate, Why Can’t We Redefine Success for Women?
WHEN Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, 4 – 5 p.m.
WHERE Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Rana Dajani, 2017-2018 Rita E. Hauser Fellow, Radcliffe Institute; Associate Professor of Biology and Biotechnology; Hashemite University (Jordan)
COST Free
CONTACT INFO events at radcliffe.harvard.edu
DETAILS At Radcliffe, Rana Dajani is writing a book that documents—from the perspective of a female, Muslim, Arab scientist who has worked in various cultures—the challenges that women face in academia; how that varies across cultures, religions, and disciplines; and how women have dealt with these challenges in different ways. She will highlight how women’s experiences have shaped their meanings of success.
LINK https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2017-rana-dajani-fellow-presentation
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Willingness to Pay for Clean Air in China
Wednesday, November 1
4:15PM TO 5:30PM
Harvard, Room L-382, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Richard Freeman, Ran Song, Harvard University; Wenquan Liang, Jinan University; and Christopher Timmins, Duke University
Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy
https://heep.hks.harvard.edu/seminar-schedules
Co-hosted by HKS professors Robert Stavins and Martin Weitzman. Support from Enel Endowment for Environmental Economics and the Department of Economics is gratefully acknowledged.
Contact Name: Bryan Galcik
bryan_galcik at hks.harvard.edu
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German Post-Election Analysis: Implications for Germany and Europe
WHEN Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, 4:15 – 6:15 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, 27 Kirkland Street, Adolphus Busch Hall at Cabot Way, Cambridge
Hoffmann Room
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Center for European Studies
SPEAKER(S) Dominic Schwickert, Executive Director, Das Progressive Zentrum; John F. Kennedy Memorial Policy Fellow, CES, Harvard University; Maria Exner, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, ZEIT Online
CONTACT INFO Colin Brown
brown4 at fas.harvard.edu
DETAILS Germany’s elections were considered “boring” by many observers, as the reelection of Angela Merkel was considered a foregone conclusion and the traditionally dominant CDU/CSU and SPD waged subdued campaigns. The results came as a surprise: Germany will have the most fragmented parliament in its postwar history as voters chose many smaller parties at the expense of the Social Democratic coalition partner and elected in the first right-wing populist party “Alternative for Germany.” How will the unprecedented multi-party coalition talks unfold, and how will this election impact German politics and the future of the European Union? Dominic Schwickert will offer an in-depth perspective as a political consultant and director of the independent think tank Das Progressive Zentrum. Maria Exner Deputy Editor-in-Chief of ZEIT Online, will share her perspective of German voters and media.
This event is made possible by the John F. Kennedy Memorial Policy Fellowship
LINK https://ces.fas.harvard.edu/events/2017/11/german-post-election-analysis-what-do-the-results-mean-for-germany-and-europes-future
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Starr Forum: Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes
Wednesday, November 1
4:30pm to 6:00pm
MIT, Building 10-250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Richard Clarke, former national coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection and Counter-terrorism for the United States
Discussant
Joel Brenner, former head of counterintelligence under the Director of National Intelligence for the United States
Co-sponsors: MIT Center for International Studies
Free & open to the public | Refreshments served
Can't attend in person? Watch it on Facebook live or on-demand on YouTube.
For more information or accessibility accommodations please contact starrforum at mit.edu.
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How Could Machines Learn as Efficiently as Animals and Humans?
Wednesday, November 1
5:00pm to 6:00pm
MIT, Building 32-123, Kirsch Auditorium, Stata Center, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Dertouzos Distinguished Lecture by Yann LeCun:
Deep learning has caused revolutions in computer perception and natural language understanding. But almost all these successes largely use supervised learning, which requires human-annotated data. For game AI, most systems use reinforcement learning, which requires too many trials to be practical in the real world. But animals and humans seem to learn vast amounts of knowledge about how the world works through mere observation and occasional actions. Good predictive world models are an essential component of intelligent behavior: With them, one can predict outcomes and plan courses of actions. One could argue that good predictive models are the basis of "common sense", allowing us to fill in missing information: predict the future from the past and present, the past from the present, or the state of the world from noisy percepts. I will review some principles and methods for predictive learning, and discuss how they can learn hierarchical representations of the world and deal with uncertainty.
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Journeys: Bridging the Us/Them Divide in the Global Refugee Crisis
WHEN Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, 5:15 – 6:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Sperry Room, Andover Hall, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture
SPONSOR Religious Literacy Project at Harvard Divinity School
CONTACT Anna Mudd
DETAILS Join us for a panel on storytelling, advocacy, and activism in response to the refugee crisis.
The world is currently facing the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II, with 65 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide, including 23 million refugees. At their best, wealthy Western countries struggle to generate the political will to accept substantial numbers of refugees; at their worst, they refuse to accept more than token numbers of refugees, or politicize refugees as threats to national security, cultural identity, or national economy. Although education about relevant facts and figures is important, there is no substitute for a personal encounter to reframe our understanding of a global crisis.
Speaking will be:
Anita Häusermann Fábos, Associate Professor of International Development and Social Change, Clark University
Cheryl Hamilton, director, International Institute of New England's Lowell office and creator of the "Suitcase Stories" series
U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo, multi-genre artist
Ziad Reslan, graduate student, Harvard Kennedy School of Government and co-coordinator of the Middle East Refugee Service Initiative
The panel will be moderated by Diane L. Moore, director of the Religious Literacy Project and Lecturer on Religion, Conflict and Peace at Harvard Divinity School
Editorial Comment: Given the rise of more destructive weather emergenices all around the world, the global refugee crisis will probably only get worse. Planning now can reduce suffering later.
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Erik Gehring presents Trees of Boston
Wednesday, November 1
6:00pm
The MIT Press Bookstore, Building N50, 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Please join us as we welcome Erik Gehring to discuss Trees of Boston: Photographing the Arnold Arboretum.
Erik Gehring is a freelance photographer who specializes in trees and natural landscapes. He lives in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston with his wife Julie and sons Carl and William. Although Erik enjoys photographing natural environments all over New England, his favorite destination is Boston’s Arnold Arboretum, and for the last ten years he has published a calendar of images taken in the Arboretum landscape entitled Trees of Boston.
Erik’s work has appeared in Yankee Magazine, AMC’s Outdoors, Northern Woodlands, the Boston Globe, the Boston Metro, the Cape Cod Times, E the Environmental Magazine, and other publications. He has shown his fine art prints at galleries throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
Erik also has lectured and taught classes at the Arboretum, the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, the Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, the Concord Art Association, the Hyde Park Art Association, and many different camera clubs throughout New England. You can visit him online at http://www.erikgehring.com
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Understanding Trump's America
Wednesday, November 1
6:00pm
Harvard, JFK Jr Forum, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Speaker(s): Daniel Allott, Jordan Allott
Moderator(s): Tyler Bridges
Daniel Allott, Deputy Commentary Editor, The Washington Examiner
Jordan Allott, Documentary Filmmaker, Founder, In Altum Productions
Tyler Bridges, Award-winning journalist and author, 2017 Joan Shorenstein Fellow, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, HKS
The JFK Jr. Forum aims to educate, inspire debate, and foster conversation at the Institute of Politics. Unless otherwise specified, members of the Harvard community and general public are encouraged to attend Forum events.
A real time look at the road to the 2020 election by Daniel and Jordan Allott. The Allott brothers will follow 9 key counties over the course of Trump’s presidency, traveling among them and keeping in touch and corresponding with the people they meet.
The Race To 2020 will present more than a snapshot in time. It will chronicle how people’s lives and views change as Trump’s presidency unfolds, and provide a rich and unique account of President Trump’s first term in office.
Speaker Bios
Daniel Allott
Before embarking on The Race To 2020 project, Daniel Allott was the Washington Examiner’s deputy commentary editor. Before joining the Examiner in 2015, he worked as a freelance writer and contributor to Investor’s Business Daily’s Leaders and Success page. He was also a senior writer at American Values, a Washington, D.C. based public policy organization.
Daniel has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Politico, USA Today, National Review and dozens of other publications. He has also edited several books. He’s a former National Review Institute Washington Fellow. Daniel is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison and Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute. He was born in Reading, England and has lived in England, New York, Wisconsin, Hawaii, Spain, and Washington, D.C.
Jordan Allott
Jordan Allott is a documentary filmmaker, founder of In Altum Productions and media advisor to In Defense of Christians. Jordan has filmed projects in over 25 countries, from China and Syria to Nigeria and Cuba, with themes ranging from international human rights and American politics to Catholic spirituality.
In 2009-10, Jordan went into Cuba to film a documentary about Dr. Oscar Biscet, a Castro dissident and human rights advocate. Oscar’s Cuba screened across Europe, the U.S. and South America. More recently, Jordan’s international human rights work has focused on the Middle East, with many trips to Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. His latest film, Our Last Stand, highlights the heroic struggle of Christians to survive in their ancestral homeland of Syria and Iraq. The film has screened across the world, including events at the parliaments of four European countries.
Jordan and his work have been seen on Fox News, EWTN News and CNN International, and he has co-produced projects with the George W. Bush Institute, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S State Department, among others. Jordan has also written opinion pieces for National Review and the Weekly Standard, and he is a 2012 National Review Institute Washington D.C. Fellow. Jordan was born in Reading, England, received a B.A. in Political Science, Philosophy and Film from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and resides in McLean, Virginia.
Tyler Bridges
Tyler Bridges, twice a member of Pulitzer Prize-winning teams, is a freelance journalist based in New Orleans who reports on Louisiana politics for the Baton Rouge/New Orleans Advocate, and also The Washington Post and Politico Weekly. He is the author of three books on Louisiana politics (the most recent, published in December 2016, is Long Shot), a 2011-12 Nieman Fellow at Harvard, and was awarded Columbia University’s Maria Moors Cabot Award in 2010 for his 10 years of foreign reporting in South America. While at the Shorenstein Center, Bridges will write about the role of conservative bloggers in debunking mainstream news stories.
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Data Science for All: It's a Whole New Game
Wednesday, November 1
6:00 PM EDT
Webcast at https://www.ibm.com/analytics/us/en/events/dsforall/
Do you have the right tools to turn data into insights–and insights into action? Join the live broadcast on November 1 on this page and see how data science can be a game changer for your business.
It's a whole new game
Your company has terabytes of data just waiting to be unleashed to power critical decisions. And now, the power to make data-driven decisions extends far more widely than ever before. Learn how it all comes together with data science–and preview new tools that continue to change the game.
Legendary statistician Nate Silver sheds light on the predictive power of data.
IBM leaders share the latest data tools.
Real-world demos show data science in action
Data science experts including Tricia Wang, ethnographer and co-founder, Sudden Compass.
TV personality Katie Linendoll hosts the event and keeps things high-energy.
Agenda
Why Data Science Is a Whole New Game Katie Linendoll
Rob Thomas - General Manager, IBM Analytics
Data Science Panel: How We Get to Data Science for All Tricia Wang - Ethnographer, Co-founder, Sudden Compass
Michael Li - Founder & CEO, Data Incubator
Nir Kaldero - Head of Data Science and Vice President, Galvanize
Data Science in Action: Real World Demos Daniel Hernandez - Vice President, IBM Analytics Offering Management
Our Data-Driven World and What's Next Nate Silver - Statistician, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of FiveThirtyEight
Disconnected silos, spiraling complexity, massive volumes of data.
Learn to address the challenges of your data environment with the right strategy, plans and tools.
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Women in Global Social Enterprise
Wednesday, November 1
6:30pm
Cambridge Innovation Center, 101 Main Street, 15th floor, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-in-global-social-enterprise-tickets-38476200351
Interested in putting your entrepreneurial skills and talents to good use? Join us at CIC 101 Main Street on November 1st to meet and network with like-minded folks working in global social enterprises. We will also feature five speakers, sharing their different approaches towards improving the lives and livelihoods of communities across the globe.
Co-hosted by the CIC and Impact Hub, enjoy amazing food and drinks provided at our donation bar, with all proceeds supporting Her Health, Her Future: our program to provide 100 young women in Uganda with the tools and training to create reusable menstrual pad kits, and launch a community-based social enterprise to support women's health.
Speakers include:
Meghan Mccormick (Founder, Dare to Innovate)
Heidi Logan (Days for Girls International)
Eleanor Joseph (Founder, Ubuntu Capital)
Serena Taylor (CSO, Evaptainers)
Huge thanks to our sponsors:
Commonwealth Market & Restaurant
Cambridge Spirits
Bantam Cider
Za Pizza Cambridge
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Signs of Hope: Messages from Subway Therapy
Wednesday, November 1
7:00pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge
In the days and weeks after the 2016 presidential election, Matthew Chavez showed up in the subway with stacks of brightly colored sticky notes. “Express yourself,” he told passersby. The response was electric. Calling himself “Levee”—one who supports the city’s emotional tide—Chavez turned an underground maze into a communal art space known as Subway Therapy.
News and social media feeds around the world filled with images of this ever-changing, ever-growing wall of remembrances, messages of love, and fierce calls to action. And its spirit was catching. Thousands picked up the mantle to create Subway Therapy walls in cities across the country—San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle, Boston, Washington, D.C.—and internationally as well.
Signs of Hope is Chavez’s tribute to Subway Therapy, including the story of how the project began and what, beyond his wildest dreams, it became. It’s an inspiring collection of his favorite images and of course, the 3-x-3-inch notes that most captured his heart. Individually these brave and funny and emotional “posts” bring the personal and momentary into the open. Together, they show us a vision of inclusivity and hope.
Matthew "Levee" Chavez is the creator of Subway Therapy, an ongoing immersive project in the subway stations of New York City that has been awarded the Municipal Art Society's 2017 Brendan Gill Prize. A believer in the therapeutic power of communication, he has worked in the field of education in a variety of different roles, including at a magnet school for students with autism. He lives in Brooklyn
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Cass R. Sunstein - impeachment
Wednesday, November 1
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EDT
Harvard Coop, 1400 Mass Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cass-r-sunstein-impeachment-tickets-38875168676
As Benjamin Franklin famously put it, Americans have a republic, if we can keep it. Preserving the Constitution and the democratic system it supports is the public’s responsibility. One route the Constitution provides for discharging that duty—a route rarely traveled—is impeachment.
Cass R. Sunstein provides a succinct citizen’s guide to an essential tool of self-government. He illuminates the constitutional design behind impeachment and emphasizes the people’s role in holding presidents accountable. Despite intense interest in the subject, impeachment is widely misunderstood. Sunstein identifies and corrects a number of misconceptions. For example, he shows that the Constitution, not the House of Representatives, establishes grounds for impeachment, and that the president can be impeached for abuses of power that do not violate the law. Even neglect of duty counts among the “high crimes and misdemeanors” delineated in the republic’s foundational document. Sunstein describes how impeachment helps make sense of our constitutional order, particularly the framers’ controversial decision to install an empowered executive in a nation deeply fearful of kings.
About the Author: Cass R. Sunstein is Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard University.
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Catching the Sun: Award-Winning Documentary about Jobs in Solar Energy
When: Wednesday, November 1st at 7:00pm
Where: MIT, Building E62-250, 100 Main Street, Cambridge
What: Through the stories of workers and entrepreneurs in the U.S. and China, Catching the Sun captures the global race to lead the clean energy future.
"A must-see film. An eye-opening look at workers and entrepreneurs on the forefront of the clean energy movement that will transform, and enliven the way you see the future. What is clear is the wonderful opportunity the transition to clean energy represents." -Mark Ruffalo
RSVP: https://sloangroups.mit.edu/netimpact/rsvp?id=356681
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What Genes Cannot Tell: The role of epigenetics in determining who we are
Wednesday, November 1
7:00 – 9:00 pm
Harvard Medical School, Armenise Auditorium, 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston
More information at http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/seminar-series/
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Thursday, November 2
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2017 Social Innovator Encore
Thursday, November 2
8:30 am-10:00 am
Brown Rudnick, 1 Financial Center, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/social-innovator-encore-tickets-37463536446
Hear from seven of greater Boston's most innovative nonprofit leaders.
Please join us at the 2017 Social Innovator Encore for one more chance to meet the 2017 Social Innovators. Learn about the approaches these exciting nonprofit organizations are using to solve our community's toughest social issues and how you can help.
Our Social Innovators will deliver their five-minute pitches from the May Showcase with additional time for networking and conversation.
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Moving into the Mainstream? Human Rights as the "S" in ESG Investing
WHEN Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017, 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Bell Hall (5th Fl Belfer Building), 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Lecture, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government
SPEAKER(S) John Ruggie, Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs, HKS
TICKET INFO Please RSVP to mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu
CONTACT INFO mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu
DETAILS Environmental, social and governance (ESG) refers to the three central factors in measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of an investment in a company or business. But what does "social" mean? John Ruggie makes the case for mainstreaming "human rights" as the "S" in ESG.
Lunch will be served.
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Natural gas: Turning a dead end into an off-ramp
Thursday, November 2
12:00-1:00pm
Tufts, Rabb Room, Lincoln Filene Center, 10 Upper Campus Road, Medford
Nathan Phillips, Earth and Environment at Boston University
Natural gas has been framed as a bridge fuel to a renewable energy-based economy, but the bridge has been crossed and its time to find the offramp. In cities, there are two ways to think about winding natural gas dependency down: an orderly, gradual shift in the building sector to electrification, or a death spiral of defections from the gas grid leading to a collapse in the gas utility business. I will share an economic case for shifting toward building electrification that re-allocates an already-committed $9.5B fund for gas pipeline replacement in Massachusetts.
Nathan Phillips is a professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University, where he directs the Earth House Living Learning Community. An ecologist and tree physiologist by training, Nathan led a first-of-its-kind study in 2013 mapping over 3,000 natural gas leaks in Boston. Gas leaks kill trees, waste money, degrade air quality and climate, and are safety hazards. This work has led to Boston and Massachusetts policy to fix the leaks.
Editorial Comment: Nathan Phillips is indefatigable on this issue as well as many other environmental problems. He has been instrumental in alerting Boston and the wider world to the dangers of natural gas leaks. If you can’t attend this event, please know that these luncheon talks are recorded and available throught the Lunch and Learn site at the Lincoln Filene Center: http://as.tufts.edu/environmentalStudies/lunch/
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What's New on the Science and Policy of Solar Geoengineering?
Thursday, November 2
12:00PM TO 1:30PM
Harvard, HUCE Seminar Room 440, MCZ, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge
RSVP: Lizzie Burns, lburns at g.harvard.edu
David Keith, Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics and Professor of Public Policy
Lunch provided
Solar Geoengineering Research Seminar
Co-sponsored by the Harvard University Center for the Environment, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and the Belfer Center's Science Technology and Public Policy program.
Formal seminars are interspersed with more informal weekly reading group meetings at the same time and place to deepen members' understanding of solar geoengineering research.
Contact Name: Lizzie Burns
lburns at g.harvard.edu
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Transnational Terorist Networks: The Case of Boko Haram
WHEN Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017, 12 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard. Andover Hall 117, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture
SPONSOR Harvard Divinity School, African and African American Studies, The Alwaleed Program, Center for African Studies, The Hutchins Center, Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations
DETAILS As a part of the Islam in Africa Brown Bag Lecture Series: Critical Perspectives on the Development and Dynamics of Islam in Africa, Dr. Alexander Thurston, Assistant Professor of Teaching for African Studies Program, Georgetown University, will present a lecture entitled "Transnational Terrorist Networks: The Case of Boko Haram."
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Japan Innovation Night
Thursday, November 2
3:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Venture Café Kendall, One Broadway, 5th Floor, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/japan-innovation-night-tickets-38638492772
Join us for Venture Café’s first ever Japan Innovation Night, a gathering of Japanese entrepreneurs, community leaders, and changemakers in the Greater Boston Area.
Venture Café hosts a weekly event that attracts innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors in the Boston innovation ecosystem. On November 2nd, the focus of the night will be on innovation and entrepreneurship in Japan. This is the perfect opportunity to create meaningful connections with like-minded people, exchange ideas, and forge new collaborations. You will be able to:
Meet Japanese and Japan-interested people from various industries and sectors
Connect with potential business partners and mentors
Learn more about successful Japanese companies’ innovative initiatives
Discuss solutions for the various social issues Japan currently faces (e.g. rapidly aging society, shrinking labor force, increased focus on gender equality)
Deepen existing connections between Boston and Tokyo
Come hear our speakers (Japanese youth, women, and corporate leaders) share their vision and passion to change the world for the better.
3:00PM-8:00PM / Venture Café, CIC, One Broadway (5th Floor) Cambridge MA, 02142
Agenda:
3:30 - 5:00 PM Innovation in Japan: Millennial Perspectives
5:15 - 6:15 PM Women & Social Entrepreneurship (JWLI)
6:30 - 7:30 PM Panel Discussion: Snapshots of Global Business
Admission: Free
All sessions will be held in English.
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Transforming a City: Leading Change in Urban Sri Lanka
WHEN Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Business School, Aldrich 211, Soldiers Field Road, Boston
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Environmental Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Cosponsored by the HBS Alumni Bulletin and HBS Southeast Asia Business Club
SPEAKER(S) Nayana Mawilmada, M.B.A. '05
COST Free
CONTACT INFO jhanna at hbs.edu
DETAILS Eisenhower Fellow Nayana Mawilmada (MBA 2005) was a key thought-leader behind the urban transformation of Sri Lanka’s capital region. He currently heads up the Property Group with John Keells Holding, Sri Lanka’s largest listed company. A brief presentation followed by an audience Q&A.
LINK https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-impact.aspx?num=6362
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The Ecology of Collective Behavior
Thursday, November 2
4:00PM
Harvard, Biological Labs Lecture Hall, Room 1080, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge
Deborah Gordon, Stanford University
Abstract: Like many complex biological systems, an ant colony operates without central control. Each ant responds to its interactions with other ants nearby. In the aggregate, these stochastic, dynamical networks of interaction regulate colony behavior.
Ants are extremely diverse, and species differences in collective behavior reflect relations with diverse environments. A long-term study of desert seed-eating ants shows how colonies regulate foraging activity according to food availability and humidity, and how natural selection is shaping collective behavior in current drought conditions. In the tropical arboreal turtle ant, trail systems respond to the distribution and stability of resources.
The algorithms that generate collective behavior have evolved to fit the dynamics of particular environments, including operating costs and the threat of rupture. Examples from ants provide a starting point for examining more generally the fit between the particular pattern of interaction that regulates collective behavior, and the environment in which it functions
OEB Seminar
https://oeb.harvard.edu/event/oeb-seminar-series-gordon
Contact Name: Wendy Heywood
wheywood at oeb.harvard.edu
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Black Maps
Thursday, November 2
4:00PM
Harvard, HUCE Seminar Room 440, MCZ, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge
David Maisel, http://davidmaisel.com/
American photographer and visual artist David Maisel will discuss Black Maps, an ongoing multi-chaptered series of aerial photographs of environmentally impacted sites exploring the aesthetics and politics of radically human-altered environments. Selections from this series are currently on display in the Center lounge.
Natural resource extraction and its consequences are themes central to Maisel’s photographic practice for nearly thirty years. Through aerial photography, the interlinked series Black Maps, The Mining Project, and American Mine explore sites across the United States that have been radically and irretrievably transformed by open pit mining. These images encompass documentary and aesthetic perspectives in equal measure, seeking to frame and interpret issues of contemporary landscape and culture. Literally and figuratively, the Earth’s consumption is revealed.
David Maisel was a Scholar in Residence at the Getty Research Institute in 2007, and an Artist in Residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts in 2008. He has served as a Trustee of the Headlands Center for the Arts since 2011. He has been the recipient of an Individual Artist’s Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and an Investing in Artists Grant from the Center for Cultural Innovation. Maisel has been shortlisted for the Prix Pictet Award and the Alpert Award in the Visual Arts. He received his BA from Princeton University, and his MFA from California College of the Arts, in addition to study at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. David Maisel was born in New York City in 1961.
Contact Name: Laura Hanrahan
laura_hanrahan at harvard.edu
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Functional Hybrid Nanomaterials: From Fundamentals to Applications
Thursday, November 2
4:00pm to 5:00pm
MIT, Building 6-104, Chipman Room, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge
The Materials Science and Engineering Seminar Series presents Professor Uli Wiesner from Cornell University, who will give his talk "Functional Hybrid Nanomaterials: From Fundamentals to Applications".
Global problems including energy conversion and storage, clean water and human health require increasingly complex, multi-component and functional materials with unprecedented control over composition, structure, and order down to the nanoscale. This talk will give examples for the rational design of novel functional hybrid nanomaterials inspired by biological examples. Discussion will include formation of self-assembled hybrid nanoparticles as well as polymer-nanoparticle self-assembly derived synthetic porous materials with amorphous, polycrystalline, and epitaxially grown single-crystal structures. Experiments will be compared to theoretical predictions to provide physical insights into formation principles. The aim of the described work is to understand the underlying fundamental chemical, thermodynamic and kinetic formation principles enabling generalization of results over a wide class of materials systems. Examples will cover the formation of hierarchical structures at equilibrium as well as via processes far away from equilibrium. Targeted applications of the prepared systems will include the development of ultrasmall fluorescent hybrid probes for nanomedicine (“Cornell dots” or “C dots”), nanostructured hybrids for energy conversion and storage devices, self-assembled asymmetric ultrafiltration membranes, as well as the formation of first self-assembled superconductors.
Refreshments will be served.
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Does the Left Have a Future?
WHEN Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017, 4:15 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Michael Kazin, Professor of History, Georgetown University; Author
COST Free
CONTACT INFO events at radcliffe.harvard.edu
DETAILS Nearly everywhere in Europe and the United States, the left is mired in crisis: its intellectuals and activists strike defensive poses and debate how to revive the fortunes of a cause whose adherents once believed they could and would shape the future.
In this talk, Kazin will discuss how this crisis occurred and reflect on how the left, both radical and liberal, might move forward again. Register online.
LINK https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2017-michael-kazin-lecture
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Just Machine Learning
Thursday, November 2
5:00-6:30pm
Tina Eliassi-Rad, Associate Professor, Network Science Institute & College of Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University
Abstract: Professor Eliassi-Rad will address the following questions: What is machine learning? Is there such a thing as just machine learning? If so, is just machine learning possible in our unjust world?
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Committing to Climate Action: A SENDOFF TO THE 2017 UN CLIMATE TALKS
Thursday, November 2
6-9 PM
The Lenox Hotel, Dome Room, 61 Exeter Street, Boston
Come enjoy a lively atmosphere, unforgettable speakers and delicious cocktails and hors d'oeuvres – and a very special prize for one lucky guest!
Join us and special guests in bringing effective local solutions to the international discussion on climate change. Massachusetts policy makers, community advocates and business leaders are coming together for a not-to-be-missed sendoff to our delegation as they head to Germany to promote carbon pricing at the Bonn Climate Change Conference. After our nation's withdrawal from the Paris Accord, it is increasingly imperative for our state to demonstrate its leadership in reducing carbon emissions.
With your support, Massachusetts can transform our global response to climate change.
DOOR PRIZE: You don’t want to miss the chance to win one of the first spots in line for a TESLA Model 3!
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Shallow Graves: The Hunt for the New Bedford Highway Serial Killer at the Boston Public Library
Thursday, November 2
7:00pm
Boston Public Library in Copley Square, Boston
Eleven women went missing over the spring and summer of 1988 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, an old fishing port known as the Whaling City, where Moby Dick, Frederick Douglass, textile mills, and heroin dealing are just a few of the many threads in the community’s diverse fabric. In Shallow Graves, investigative reporter Maureen Boyle tells the story of a case that has haunted New England for forty years.
Boyle, an award-winning journalist, has been a crime reporter in New England for more than twenty-five years, including at the Standard-Times of New Bedford during this serial murder case. She holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Bridgeport and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Anna Maria College. She is now director of the journalism program at Stonehill College.
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Ethno-Erotic Economies: Sexuality, Money, and Belonging in Kenya
Thursday, November 2
7:00pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge
Over the past few decades, maternal childbirth injuries have become a potent symbol of Western biomedical intervention in Africa, affecting over one million women across the global south. Western-funded hospitals have sprung up, offering surgical sutures that ostensibly allow women who suffer from obstetric fistula to return to their communities in full health. Journalists, NGO staff, celebrities, and some physicians have crafted a stock narrative around this injury, depicting afflicted women as victims of a backward culture who have their fortunes dramatically reversed by Western aid. With Beyond Surgery, medical anthropologist Anita Hannig unsettles this picture for the first time and reveals the complicated truth behind the idea of biomedical intervention as quick-fix salvation.
Through her in-depth ethnography of two repair and rehabilitation centers operating in Ethiopia, Hannig takes the reader deep into a world inside hospital walls, where women recount stories of loss and belonging, shame and delight. As she chronicles the lived experiences of fistula patients in clinical treatment, Hannig explores the danger of labeling “culture” the culprit, showing how this common argument ignores the larger problem of insufficient medical access in rural Africa. Beyond Surgery portrays the complex social outcomes of surgery in an effort to deepen our understanding of medical missions in Africa, expose cultural biases, and clear the path toward more effective ways of delivering care to those who need it most.
Anita Hannig is assistant professor of anthropology at Brandeis University, in Massachusetts.
Ethno-erotic Economies explores a fascinating case of tourism focused on sex and culture in coastal Kenya, where young men deploy stereotypes of African warriors to help them establish transactional sexual relationships with European women. In bars and on beaches, young men deliberately cultivate their images as sexually potent African men to attract women, sometimes for a night, in other cases for long-term relationships.
George Paul Meiu uses his deep familiarity with the communities these men come from to explore the long-term effects of markets of ethnic culture and sexuality on a wide range of aspects of life in rural Kenya, including kinship, ritual, gender, intimate affection, and conceptions of aging. What happens to these communities when young men return with such surprising wealth? And how do they use it to improve their social standing locally? By answering these questions, Ethno-erotic Economies offers a complex look at how intimacy and ethnicity come together to shape the pathways of global and local trade in the postcolonial world.
George Paul Meiu is assistant professor of anthropology and African and African American Studies at Harvard University.
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Tooning in to Conservation
Thursday, November 2
7:00PM TO 8:30PM
Arnold Arboretum, Hunnewell Building, 125 Arborway, Boston
Tooning in to Conservation
RSVP at http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277
Cost: $0 members and students, $10 nonmember
The Arnold Arboretum welcomes Rosemary Mosco, Science Communicator and Naturalist
Science and conservation are serious endeavors. But sometimes you just need a laugh. Rosemary Mosco, a nature cartoonist and science communicator with a keen wit, will share some of her science-based comics, sure to make you guffaw. She’ll talk about how you can use art and writing to support conservation and speak about her process of developing a cartoon, from concept through research, wordsmithing, to sketch-up and final design.
Rosemary has created acclaimed cartoons, served in communications roles for groups such as NPS and Mass Audubon, written for nature publications, and led unique nature walks. Her graphic novel, Solar Systems, comes out via First Second Books in 2018.
Contact Name: Pam Thompson
pam_thompson at harvard.edu
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Faculty Speaker Series: Invisible Chefs, Roberto Kolter
WHEN Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Ed Portal, 224 Western Avenue, Allston
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops, Lecture, Special Events
COST Free and open to the public
TICKET WEB LINK https://www.eventbrite.com/e/harvard-faculty-speaker-series-roberto-kolter-invisible-chefs-registration-36750609061
DETAILS How Microbes Make Our Food
Join the Harvard Ed Portal for a virtual dinner with Roberto Kolter, Professor of Microbiology at Harvard Medical School. During this dinner, Professor Kolter will guide the audience through the invisible roles that microbes play in the food and drink we consume. Learn how microbes produce the raw materials, prepare the food, and enhance our ability to be nourished as we delight in eating. The event will include food tastings.
LINK https://edportal.harvard.edu/event/faculty-speaker-series-invisible-chefs
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Conservation of Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks in Costa Rica
Thursday, November 2
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Simons IMAX Theatre New England Aquarium, Aquarium Wharf, Boston
RSVP at http://support.neaq.org/site/Calendar?id=107287&view=Detail
Andres Lopez; Cofounder of Misión Tiburón and New England Aquarium Marine Conservation Action Fund Fellow
The scalloped hammerhead shark is an endangered species threatened by overfishing, bycatch, and the shark fin trade. Scientist Andres Lopez and his partner, Ilena Zanella, founded Misión Tiburón (Shark Mission) in Costa Rica to study and protect these charismatic animals. Through their years of research and tagging studies they have identified the sharks’ critical nursery habitats and helped to enact national and international conservation measures, including CITES listings, to better protect these animals. This work was supported in part by the New England Aquarium’s Marine Conservation Action Fund (MCAF). Lopez and Zanella have also engaged fishermen, communities, government officials, and schoolchildren in their conservation efforts, growing a vital and broad base of support for the sharks. Join us to hear MCAF Fellow Andres Lopez speak about his comprehensive approach to shark conservation in Costa Rica and his efforts to promote a shark sanctuary in Golfo Dulce, a critical nursery habitat on the country’s Pacific coast.
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Friday, November 3 – Sunday, November 5
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MIT Energy Hackathon 2017
Friday, November 3, 2017, 6:00 PM – Sunday, November 5,6:00 PM EDT
MIT, Building 10-250 (Huntington Hall) 77 Massachusetts Avenue & Lobby 13, 105 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-energy-hackathon-2017-tickets-36806884382
Information for attendees from out of state:
If you require travel reimbursement, please apply at this link: https://goo.gl/forms/ziUvfqlVKHzFbJhh2
Now in its 3rd year, the MIT Energy Hackathon brings opportunities for learning, problem solving, and networking to the forefront as teams develop rapid, innovative solutions to the problems in energy that our society faces today.
For students, the MIT Energy Hackathon is a helpful platform to learn and understand real-world challenges, generate ideas, find startup partners, and win cash awards. For companies, the Hackathon acts as a powerful crowd-sourcing platform that generates a breadth of potential solutions to the environmental and energy challenges that these companies face.
After two days of teams competing to develop novel solutions for specific, energy and environmentally-minded challenges, an awards reception will be held, and the winning teams will receive prizes and recognition from the Hackathon's sponsors.
The Hackathon invites companies in the energy industry to present challenges that they themselves face or they believe the industry at large is facing On the first evening of the Hackathon, a representative from each company will present their challenges to Hackathon participants, a mix of students from MIT, the greater Boston area and beyond. After making teams and selecting prizes, teams have ~36 hours to develop solutions to their chosen challenges. The weekend culminates with an poster presentation sessions where judges select around 10 finalists. A final presentation sessions allows the selection of 3 winners based on innovation, impact and potential for success. It's a great way for companies to interface with students about important energy challenges, and for students to lead a team, design an innovative project, and present their ideas to these companies.
We are looking for:
Participants to join the hacking
Judges to help select winners on the Sunday morning (9:30 AM - 1 PM)
Editorial Comment: The Editor will be presenting a challenge to the Hackathon participants: how to rebuild the energy infrastructure of the Caribbean after the hurricanes, a problem we will all have to solve in the coming days, weeks, months, and years.
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Friday, November 3
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Atmospheric & Environmental Chemistry Seminar
Friday, November 3
12:00PM TO 1:00PM
Harvard, 100F Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Tom Hanisco, NASA, is a research physical scientist in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics branch. His research focuses on laboratory and field experiments pertaining to atmospheric chemistry and composition. His lab is the In Situ Observations lab that develops instrumentation for aircraft.
https://www.seas.harvard.edu/calendar/event/104781
Contact Name: Brenda Mathieu
bmathieu at seas.harvard.edu
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People Govern Not Money! Celebration and Support
Friday, November 3
6:00 PM
Old West Church, 131 Cambridge Street, Boston
RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/celebrate-and-support-people-govern-not-money
Join us on November 3rd at a special fundraiser to learn more about and support the Massachusetts ballot initiative drive for a 28th Amendment Citizens Commission to overturn Citizens United so people, not money govern.
Our signature collection efforts will be getting a sweet boost - Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Head Stamper at the Stamp Stampede, will be in town dishing out free ice cream and excitement to get us over the finish line. We are thrilled to be joined by Harvard Professor, democracy reformer, author of Republic Lost, and member of American Promise Advisory Council, Lawrence Lessig.
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TEDxBeaconStreet 2017 Escape Velocity Party
Friday, November 3
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Brookline Teen Center, 40 Aspinwall Avenue, Brookline
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tedxbeaconstreet-2017-escape-velocity-party-nov-3rd-registration-38372468085
NOTE: This registration page is for the Nov 3rd Escape Velocity Party at the Brookline Teen Center Only. Follow the links below to the other registration pages for the Lincoln School, JFK Library, and Edward M Kennedy Institute.
Want to get some facetime with our Speakers and meet our awesome community? Join us at the Escape Velocity Party at the Brookline Teen Center before our event on Friday, November 3rd! Speakers, volunteers, and our awesome community will gather to celebrate Year 6 of putting ideas in action.
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Saturday, November 4 - Sunday, November 5
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TEDxBeaconStreet
Lincoln School, Brookline, MA
Saturday, November 4 2-9pm
Sunday, November 5 9am-7:45pm
RSVP at http://www.tedxbeaconstreet.com/2017-registration/
Teen activists, young artists, student survivors, and wise advisors share ideas for every generation in this family-friendly event. Meet the speakers:
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Saturday, November 4
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Presidential First Use of Nuclear Weapons: Is it Legal? Is it Constitutional? Is it Just?
WHEN Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Science Center Hall C, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Conferences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Mahindra Humanities Center (Harvard);
Office of the Dean of Arts and Humanities (Harvard)
SPEAKER(S) Former missile launch officer Bruce Blair. Former Secretary of Defense William Perry.
Yale Constitutional Law professor Bruce Ackerman; Philosopher Sissela Bok; Senior advisor to Bulletin of Atomic Scientist Kennette Benedict. Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern. Georgetown Law Professor Rosa Brooks. Anthropologist Hugh Gusterson. Director of UN Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms John Burroughs; Co-director of Princeton's Program on Science and Global Security Zia Mian.
DIRECTED BY Conference Co-Chairs: Elaine Scarry (Harvard) and Jonathan King (MIT)
COST Free for Students. $20 for general audience.
TICKET WEB LINK masspeaceaction.org…
DETAILS Nuclear weapons strategy in the United States is designed around “presidential first use,” an arrangement that enables one man, the president, to kill and maim many millions of people in a single afternoon. What legal and philosophical principles support or instead prohibit this arrangement? Parallel questions will be asked about the other eight nuclear states.
LINK mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu
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Design for Social Impact
Saturday, November 4
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EDT
MIT, Building 35-310, 127 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/design-for-social-impact-tickets-38748023381
If you're interested in designing for social impact, prototyping ideas, and pitching, attend the Society of Women Engineers Design for Social Impact on November 4th from 11AM-1PM! As part of the challenge, you'll brainstorm ideas, create a physical prototype, and pitch your designs to a panel of MIT students. Whether you want to learn more about merging design and real-world problem solving, visit the MIT community, or connect with us at SWE, we would like to welcome you to attend Design for Social Impact! It will be on MIT campus building 35 room 310, and lunch from Flour will be provided :)
Questions? Contact MIT SWE High School Outreach at swe-hs-oncampus at mit.edu
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Allston Fixit Clinic
Saturday, November 4
11 am–2 pm
Harvard, Honan-Allston Library, 300 North Harvard Street, Allston
RSVP at http://goo.gl/qTzh9J
Celebrating repair by conveying basic troubleshooting skills, Fixit Clinics are do-it-together hands-on STEM-oriented fix-n-learn community-based exploration and discovery workshops where neighbors, friends, and families work collectively to learn about and repair their broken items.
So bring your broken, non-functioning things: electronics, appliances, computers, toys, sewing machines, bicycles, fabric items, etc.-- for assessment, disassembly, and possible repair. We'll provide 1) workspace 2) specialty tools and 3) volunteer Fixit Coaches to consult with you on the disassembly and troubleshooting of your item.
Whether you fix it or not, you'll learn more about how it was manufactured and how it worked, ready to share your new-found confidence and insight with your friends, neighbors, and the community at large. (Hopefully you’ll be inspired to become a Fixit Coach yourself.)
Bring your broken item with all parts necessary to recreate the symptoms (carry-in only: no oversize items)
Bring any parts and tools you already own that might be helpful (e.g. hand tools, sewing supplies)
Come ready to describe what’s wrong and what you’ve tried (advance web research is helpful)
Come ready to learn and to share your knowledge with others
An all-ages family-friendly event: accompanied children are heartily invited! COST: Free
The event is sponsored by Fixit Clinic, Harvard University Recycling Services, Harvard Ed Portal, and the Harvard Office for Sustainability. We will be providing pizza, coffee etc, and light snacks to coaches. Bring your own mug, plate & napkin for a special prize.
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Design for Social Impact
Saturday, November 4
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM EDT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/design-for-social-impact-tickets-38748023381
If you're interested in designing for social impact, prototyping ideas, and pitching, attend the Society of Women Engineers Design for Social Impact on November 4th from 11AM-2PM! As part of the challenge, you'll brainstorm ideas, create a physical prototype, and pitch your designs to a panel of MIT students. Whether you want to learn more about merging design and real-world problem solving, visit the MIT community, or connect with us at SWE, we would like to welcome you to attend Design for Social Impact! Lu
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Archimedes, Galileo & the Revolution in Problem Solving
Saturday, November 4
1:30 PM
India Pavilion, 17 Central Square, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.meetup.com/GreaterBostonHumanists/events/244387361/
Greater Boston Humanists holds our first Fall event with a buffet lunch and lecture gathering at the India Pavillion, in Central Square Cambridge, Saturday, November 4. We'll eat from the buffet (w/vegetarian options, only $14 per person for all you care to eat) starting at 1:30 pm.
At 2:30, Russell Doane will speak on "Archimedes, Galileo, and The Revolution in Problem Solving." In 1954 as a student, Russell Doane showed up at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and found that most of his teachers had almost forgotten one of the most important methods to make new technology, something he learned from his own father. Two of the greatest scientists and inventors of all time were aided by the same problem-solving technique, one that Mr. Doane thinks has had its ups and downs over the centuries since.
The power to make something new, which nobody had before, — to visualize it and bring it into being — is the essence of what created the modern world. By the end of this talk, Russell will give you a new way to think about the 400-year revolution that has created the world we live in, and the importance of sharing this problem-solving technique with everyone from the children in your life, to the leaders struggling with the problems of governance today.
Russell Doane worked for 36 years in electronics for Digital Equipment Corporation, and was on the Board of the Boston Ethical Society for several years. He owns a converted fire station in Tiverton, Rhode Island, and works on boat building and other projects there. A long-time GBH member, he writes a column for the Greater Boston Humanist newsletter.
Join us this Fall in community-building and intellectual discussion after our long summer hiatus! RSVP here and come share in our celebration with lively community food for body and mind.
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Sunday, November 5
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Sustainability Student Leaders Symposium @ Emerson College
Sunday, November 5
11:00 AM – 5:30 PM EST
Emerson College, 120 Boylston Street, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sustainability-student-leaders-symposium-emerson-college-tickets-37008211557
Cost: $14.22
The Sustainability Student Leadership Symposium is a conference that allows student leaders to participate in a set of presentations, workshops, and roundtable discussions by students or regional professionals. The structure of the symposium allows students from different schools to lead sessions on a variety of topics, providing valuable presentation experience as well as facilitating the spread of ideas between schools. The symposium fills an important role by showing students that they belong to a larger community of people like themselves who are all working for the same cause of creating a sustainably conscious community at their college or university.
Students have the option to attend at one of our locations (Swarthmore, Emerson, or Champlain College). This page allows you to sign up for the conference at Emerson College.
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Monday, November 6 - Tuesday, November 7
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The Agriculture, Nutrition, Health, and the Environment in Africa conference
November 6: Amphitheater, Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston
November 7: HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
More information at https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutrition-and-global-health/lecture-seminar-series/agriculture-nutrition-health-and-the-environment-in-africa/
The Agriculture, Nutrition, Health, and the Environment in Africa conference is a collaboration between Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and Technology, Harvard University Center for African Studies, and Africa Academy for Public Health. It will be held in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts on Monday and Tuesday, November 6-7, 2017.
The conference aims to generate attention and awareness, create opportunities for novel collaborations, and identify a path forward toward solving complex health and development challenges. Understanding the intersections of agriculture, nutrition, and public health is particularly important in Africa, where populations are growing and urbanizing rapidly, and high rates of undernutrition and infectious diseases are exacerbated by an increasing burden of overweight/obesity and noncommunicable diseases. Agricultural production systems are under pressure to keep pace with population shifts and dietary transition. In addition to preventing illness and removing some burden from health systems, a holistic approach to malnutrition can also help foster healthy, sustainable environments, with exponential benefits for planetary health.
There is increasing global attention and commitment to bridging this gap. The recently adopted United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have highlighted the interconnectedness of food security, agriculture, environmental sustainability, and nutrition, and secured high-level commitments from around the globe. There is no doubt that this is an increasingly important issue that requires multisectoral and diverse perspectives.
Contact Name: Todd Datz
tdatz at hsph.harvard.edu
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MIT Water Summit: Water & Food Nexus
Monday, November 6 - November 7, 2017
MIT, Building E-51. Wong Auditorium, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://mit.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=708&cid=35&p=1
Cost: $25 - $150
Early bird pricing until October 24
As populations continue to grow and demand for food rises, the role of water in meeting future food needs will become increasingly critical. This year’s MIT Water Summit will focus on issues at the heart of the food-water nexus, reflecting on the role of water in food production – both in agriculture and aquaculture – and the innovation, policy, and technologies required to support healthy and sustainable communities.
More information at http://www.mitwatersummit.com
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Monday, November 6
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Striving for Zero Waste at Colleges & Universities
Monday, November 6
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM EST
The Harvard Ed Portal, 224 Western Avenue, Allston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/striving-for-zero-waste-at-colleges-universities-registration-37429016195
Cost: $50 – $75
Organized by the Zero Waste College and University Technical Committee (ZWCUTC) of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), this workshop will showcase zero waste practices and strategies to take waste reduction to the next level on your campus. Best practices from different entities across the U.S. will be presented along with opportunities for interaction among individuals with different backgrounds, knowledge, and experience in practices and topics relating to zero waste. Join us to learn from individuals who are highly involved in waste reduction and zero waste at colleges and universities and beyond.
Included in the workshop is a walking tour of zero waste practices at Harvard University.
Preliminary Agenda:
Introduction – Rob Gogan, Harvard University and Karyn Kaplan, University of Oregon
Strategies to Finance Zero Waste Programs – Katherine Walsh, Boston Public Schools; Sharon Daraphonhdeth, University of California Berkeley; Lin King, University of California Berkeley
Local Collegiate Zero Waste Efforts (TBD)
Hot Topic: Move Out Day – Mark Lennon, Institutional Recycling Network
Recyclemania – Jennifer Hobson, University of Texas at Austin
TRUE Zero Waste Certification – Ryan Peterson, Berkeley Haas Business School and Mike Carey, Orange Coast College
Student Lightening Round – presentations from students on Climate Change & Zero Waste, recycled plastic 3D printing, and more
Greenwashing and Hard to Recycle Items – Colleen McCormick, University of California Merced
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PAOC Colloquium: Trude Storelvmo (Yale)
Monday, November 6
12:00pm to 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-923, 21 Ames Street, Cambridge
About the Speaker
I am an atmospheric scientist, focusing my research on the role of aerosol particles and clouds in Earth’s climate. I am particularly interested in how aerosol particles affect climate by acting as cloud condensation nuclei and ice nuclei. I also work on question related to cloud-climate feedback mechanisms and climate engineering involving aerosols and/or clouds. Aerosol/cloud effects are arguable among the most uncertain and poorly constrained influences on the climate system, and will represent a tremendous challenge to the scientific community in years to come.
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Fighting for Access to Justice in the Halls of Congress: Reps. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) & Susan W. Brooks (R-IN) on Civil Legal Aid
WHEN Monday, Nov. 6, 2017, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Langdell Hall North, 225 Vorenberg Classroom, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Law, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Law Forum
SPEAKER(S) Rep. Joseph Kennedy III
Rep. Susan Brooks
DIRECTED BY Pete Davis
CONTACT INFO Pete Davis: PeDavis at jd18.law.harvard.edu
DETAILS The co-founders of the bipartisan Congressional Access to Legal Services Caucus, Reps. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) and Susan W. Brooks (R-IN), come to Harvard Law School to talk about the importance of funding for civil legal aid for impoverished Americans.
Free and open to the public. Pizza will be provided.
LINK https://www.facebook.com/events/783182571866385/?ref=br_rs
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Malkit Shoshan, “Border Ecologies”
WHEN Monday, Nov. 6, 2017, 12 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Gund Hall, 112 Stubbins, 48 Quincy St., Cambridge, Mass.
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Lecture
SPEAKER(S) Malkit Shoshan
CONTACT INFO events at gsd.harvard.edu
DETAILS "Borders shape and consolidate relations between states, people, jurisdictions, political entities, and territories, and they often lie at the center of conflict between them. They are tools entangled in complex socio-political and economic ecologies. While some borders are relatively stable, others are in a constant flow. They regulate economic relations and people’s access to places, resources, and rights.
Borders determine the way our surroundings are organized, inhabited and controlled, and the ways communities relate to one another—while some break through borders to survive, others fence themselves off.
In this lecture, Shoshan will present case studies from FAST's ongoing investigations and engagements with conflict and post-conflict areas. The concurrent exhibition “Border Ecologies” examines the spatial processes of bordering in conflict and post-conflict contexts. It concentrates on the way borders impact communities and produces new spatial forms
The Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST) is an Amsterdam- and New York-based architectural think-tank that initiates and develops cross-disciplinary research, advocacy, and design projects at the intersection between architecture, planning, and human rights. FAST is led by Malkit Shoshan.
Anyone requiring accessibility accommodations should contact the events office at (617) 496-2414 or events at gsd.harvard.edu.”
LINK http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/event/malkit-shoshan/
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Digital Farming: Exploring the Intersection of Computation, Biology, and Photography at the MIT Media Lab
Monday, November 6
12:10PM
Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill Lecture Hall, 1300 Centre Street, Boston
Tim Savas, Technical Associate, MIT Media Lab
Arnold Arboretum Research Talk
https://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/research/research-talks/
Contact Name: arbweb at arnarb.harvard.edu
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Privacy Default(s) by Design? Personal Data in Cybersecurity Information Sharing
Monday, November 6
12:15PM TO 2:00PM
Harvard, Room 100F, Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Paula Kift (Palantir).
Sandwich lunch is provided. RSVP required.
The Harvard STS Circle is co-sponsored by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
STS Circle at Harvard
http://sts.hks.harvard.edu/events/sts_circle/
Contact Name: sts at hks.harvard.edu
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On a World Climate Assembly and the Social Cost of Carbon
Monday, November 6
12:30PM TO 1:30PM
Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Martin Weitzman, Professor of Economics, Harvard. Lunch is provided.
Energy Policy Seminar
https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/cepr/seminar.html#fall2017
Contact Name: Louisa Lund
louisa_lund at hks.harvard.edu
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Affordable Housing & Modernist Architecture
Monday, November 6
12:30pm to 2:00pm
MIT, Building 9-255, City Arena, 105 Mass Avenue, Cambridge
The SPURS/Humphrey program is delighted to invite you to our fall seminar series: North American Planning Experience: Is It Relevant for the Developing World?
Our goal is to explore to what extent, and under what conditions, planning ideas generated from practice in the U.S. can travel to cities in the developing world and be implemented effectively. We’ll also consider whether planning ideas, practices and programs are traveling from the rest of the world back to the United States.
The fifth seminar is Monday, Nov 6, in the City Arena, 12:30 - 2 PM: Affordable Housing & Modernist Architecture: Repeated Architectural Mistakes or Resilient Urban Transformation?, with Lawrence Vale and Anya Brickman Reardon, respondent.
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Conversations on Environmental Justice: Pedagogy and Practice
Monday, November 6
12:30pm to 2:00pm
MIT, Building 9-450B, 105 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge,
Join DUSP Professor Justin Steil and Visiting Professor Gregg Macey as they lead a participatory conversation on teaching environmental justice and striving towards greater equity in ones practice.
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Why is Housing So Expensive?!
Monday, November 6
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM EST
District Hall, 75 Northern Avenue, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/why-is-housing-so-expensive-tickets-38003902696
Join us for a lively discussion on Greater Boston’s housing costs and what we can do about it
It’s clear that housing affordability in our region is a problem. Housing that is too expensive for the average worker impacts quality of life (like will you live with three roommates forever?), whether businesses can hire and expand, and if graduates from our institutions can stay and build a career. From apartments to houses and everything in between, the region has a lot of increasingly high priced real estate. So how did we get here?
Join us for an interactive session for young people living and working in Greater Boston to learn about the true dynamics at play when it comes to housing affordability. Speakers will lead interactive presentations examining the following questions:
What does zoning actually mean?
How can it and does it impact housing in your city or town?
How can you advocate in your neighborhood or community for positive zoning and land use changes?
What policies are in play at the state level that could have an impact on Greater Boston’s housing future?
For those who aren’t land use, housing or zoning experts (or if you don’t even know what zoning means!) this session is for you.
There will be refreshments and a cash bar available.
Sponsored by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, the Urban Land Institute, the City Awake program from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and the Alliance for Business Leadership.
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Stephen Wolfram, in Conversation with Howard Gardner: What Is the Best Education in Mathematical Thinking for the 21st Century?
Monday, November 6
5:30 – 7 P.M. EST
Harvard, Longfellow Hall, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge
Speakers:
Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, HGSE, and senior director, Project Zero
Stephen Wolfram, founder & CEO, Wolfram Research; creator, Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha, and the Wolfram Language; author, A New Kind of Science
Join Dr. Stephen Wolfram and Dr. Howard Gardner as they discuss views on mathematical thinking in 21st century education. Topics will include: relations among mathematical, logical, computational, programming, and coding skills; whether, and if so in what ways, other disciplines (from science to the arts) should be included in mathematical education; and how we should be thinking about mathematical education, broadly construed, over the lifetime.
PLEASE NOTE: Seating for this forum will be available on a first come, first seated basis.Askwith Hall is expected to fill up quickly and we encourage participants to arrive early in order to obtain a seat. Seats may not be saved for those pending arrival. Additional seating will be available in satellite spaces on campus once Askwith Hall fills to capacity.
The queue for Askwith Hall seating will start at 4 p.m. Out of respect for the academic and classroom environment, we request that you do not arrive prior to 4 p.m. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m.
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MIT Solve: Student Challenge Design Workshop!
Monday, November 6
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST
MIT, The Bush Room [77 Massachusetts Ave, Building 10 Room 105], Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-solve-student-challenge-design-workshop-tickets-38876615002
Are you a student or recent grad?
Are you interested in technological innovation?
Do you aspire to help solve the world’s most pressing problems?
Or what about making lasting connections with other students and experts in the Boston area?
If you answered yes to one and/or all of these questions, sign up for the Solve Student Challenge Design Workshop!
**Seats are limited; reserve your spot in advance!**
At the Solve Challenge Design Workshop you will work with other local students to brainstorm and identify the most difficult problems our world faces today. From this, you will formulate actionable challenges for which people from across the world can develop and submit innovative solutions. You can make a difference!
Bring an open mind and come prepared to collaborate with other future innovators, entrepreneurs, and change makers!
Note: Pizza and beverages will be provided.
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An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice
Monday, November 6
7:00 PM (Doors at 6:30)
First Parish Church, 1446 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.harvard.com/event/khizr_khan/
Cost: $5.00 - $27.00 (online only, book included)
Harvard Book Store welcomes KHIZR KHAN—the Muslim American Gold Star father well known for his 2016 Democratic National Convention speech—for a discussion of his debut memoir An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice. He will be joined in conversation by writer, Harvard Law School professor, and human rights expert MARTHA MINOW.
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The Future of Nature: What is the Future of Science?
Monday, November 6
7:00PM TO 8:30PM
Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston
RSVP at https://support.nature.org/site/Ticketing?view=Tickets&id=10586
Cost: $10 – includes hors d’oeuvres and drink | Space is limited, so please reserve your ticket.
From gene editing to self-driving cars, in a quickly changing world, innovations in science and technology can raise difficult ethical and social questions—environmental and beyond. Who answers them and how? What’s the role of science? How do we ensure disparate communities and perspectives are heard in the march of progress? The Nature Conservancy and the Museum of Science jointly present a panel discussion featuring Sheila Jasanoff, Professor of Science and Technology, HKS; Daniel Sarewitz, Co-Director, Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes, Arizona State University; Hugh Possingham, Chief Scientist, The Nature Conservancy; and moderated by Carey Goldberg, editor of WBUR’s CommonHealth, to examine these questions.
More information at https://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/massachusetts/explore/ma-future-of-nature.xml?src=r.future
Contact Name: Cameron Bruns
cameron.bruns at tnc.org
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Is political correctness why Trump won?y
Monday, November 6
7:00 – 10:30 EST
Harvard University Science Center, Science Center Hall C, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/is-political-correctness-why-trump-won-harvard-university-tickets-37749961150
The shock election of Donald Trump has sent many looking for answers. Why didn’t his outlandish statements, his ‘locker-room talk’ and his out-there views sink his candidacy in the way it would have sunk others? While many have chalked his win up to racism, xenophobia and misogyny – others suggest it was a revolt precisely against those who so casually throw around those labels. In short, the election was a referendum on political correctness, a choice between the immaculately focus-grouped Clinton and the from-the-hip Trump. Did PC culture get Trump elected? Will his presidency serve as an antidote to offence culture? Or is the thin-skinned Trump, who rankles at any criticism, just a different kind of ‘snowflake’?
SPEAKERS: Wendy Kaminer is a lawyer and social critic. She has written about law, liberty and feminism for publications including the New York Times, the Atlantic and the Wall Street Journal. She is the author of eight books, including Free for All: Defending Liberty in America Today.
Steven Pinker is a Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. He has written for the New York Times, Time and The Atlantic, and is the author of 10 books, including The Better Angels of Our Nature. His forthcoming book, Enlightenment Now, will be published in February 2018. @sapinker
Brendan O’Neill is editor of spiked and a regular columnist for Reason and the Spectator. He has also written for the LA Times, the Telegraph, the Australian, and more. This year, he was named best online columnist at the Maggie Awards. He is the author, most recently, of A Duty to Offend.
Robby Soave is associate editor at Reason and a columnist for the Daily Beast. He has also written for the New York Times, New York Post, CNN, USA Today, and more. He is currently on sabbatical, writing a book on activism in the age of Trump. at robbysoave
This is a FREE panel and Q&A, as part of the spiked US Unsafe Space tour.
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Tuesday, November 7
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Reimagining Sustainability at AB InBev: Chief Procurement & Sustainability Officer Tony Milikin
When: Tuesday, Nov 7, 11:45am-12:45pm
Where: TBD
What: Join Tony Milikin (Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer), Greg Belt (Global VP of Smart Value Creation), and Ezgi Barcenas (Global Director of Procurement Sustainability) to learn about Procurement at AB InBev, the company’s evolving strategy to mainstream sustainability into the Procurement function, and how you can play a role as a Global MBA summer intern. Students interested in working in any function at AB InBev are encouraged to attend.
RSVP: https://sloangroups.mit.edu/sustain/rsvp?id=359811
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Alexandra Petri – Satire and Comedy in the Age of Trump
Tuesday, November 7
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Harvard, Taubman 275, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
Alexandra Petri writes The Washington Post’s ComPost blog, offering a lighter take on the news and opinions of the day. She is the author of A Field Guide to Awkward Silences. She joined the Post as an intern in 2010, after graduating from Harvard College.
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Understanding Political Polarization in the US
WHEN Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Wasserstein Hall, Room 2009, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Law, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School
SPEAKER(S) Susan Podziba, Podziba Policy Mediation
Liz McClintock, CMPartners
CONTACT INFO Julie Barrett, jbarrett at law.harvard.edu
DETAILS The fever pitch of US political polarization is unrelenting. Susan Podziba (Podziba Policy Mediation) and Liz McClintock (CMPartners), mediation and conflict resolution experts, will share their thoughts on current societal dynamics based on their experiences in addressing complex conflict.
Liz observes a likeness to the tribalism inherent to her work on ethnic conflict in Central Africa. Susan sees a clash of worldviews similar to religion-based conflicts, including her work with Massachusetts leaders of the pro-life and pro-choice movements. These observations prompted them to ask the question: Can we engage a civic fusion approach to addressing polarization whereby disputants bond across passionately different political positions and worldviews to address common public goals without sacrificing their core values?
At this event, Susan and Liz will each offer their observations, engage each other in dialogue, and then invite the audience to participate in an open discussion.
LINK https://www.pon.harvard.edu/events/understanding-political-polarization-us/
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What should the course catalog look like in the 21st century? Leveraging data and design for course selection and discovery
Tuesday, November 7
12:00 pm
RSVP required to attend in person at https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/2017/luncheon/11/Curricle#RSVP
Event will be live webcast at 12:00 pm at https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/2017/luncheon/11/Curricle
Curricle with Professor Jeffrey Schnapp, metaLAB Harvard
Curricle will offer a new experience in course selection at Harvard: a platform that gives students powerful tools in data visualization and analytics for browsing and selecting courses. The platform will enable students to see the broader landscape within which they navigate the curriculum, offering more opportunities for choice and customization. Additionally it will offer opportunities for students and scholars to see trends in Harvard’s curriculum over time.
The usual course-selection process has blind spots where life-changing courses can lurk undiscovered. And especially in a post-disciplinary era, finding ways to identify links currents among courses across departments—to chart, visualize, and connect far-flung parts of the curriculum—will allow students to forge new and productive paths. metaLAB’s team of designers and scholars will be offering an interactive lunch to preview Curricle and offer opportunities for engagement, reflection, and comprehensive rethinking of the course-selection experience.
About metaLAB
metaLAB (at) Harvard, led by Professor Jeffrey Schnapp (RLL, GSD), and headquartered at the Berkman Klein Center, is a creative research team exploring new roles for media and technology in the arts and humanities. The group's project-based research takes many forms, from museum and gallery installations to books, websites, and interventions in virtual and real space.
About Professor Jeffrey Schnapp
Before moving to Harvard in 2011, Jeffrey Schnapp occupied the Pierotti Chair of Italian Studies at Stanford, where he founded and led the Stanford Humanities Lab between 1999 and 2009. A cultural historian, designer, and curator with research interests extending from antiquity to the present, his most recent books include The Electric Information Age Book, Modernitalia, Digital_Humanities, and The Library Beyond the Book. At Harvard he occupies the Carl A. Pescosolido Chair in Romance and Comparative Literatures, while also serving as a faculty member of the Architecture department at the Graduate School of Design and as one of the faculty co-directors of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. For more information, go to jeffreyschnapp.com.
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Fixing Our Broken Sleep
Tuesday, November 7
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM (EST)
MIT, Building 76-156; The David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, 500 Main Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fixing-our-broken-sleep-registration-36747397455
Presenter – Rick Clerici, Certified Clinical Sleep Educator; Director, Clear Mind Systems
Do you struggle to get a good night’s sleep? If so, you are not alone. Recent studies suggest that we are experiencing a worldwide epidemic of insufficient sleep, with 60 percent of Americans reporting difficulty sleeping nearly every night. In this interactive seminar, attendees will learn techniques for overcoming common sleep problems; examine sleep from a scientific, historic, and traditional perspective; and learn the connections between sleep and health. This presentation has helped many people begin to get better sleep almost immediately. Some sleep concerns that will be addressed include:
Trouble falling asleep
Difficulty staying asleep
Excessive thinking
Waking too early
Daytime sleepiness
Sunday night insomnia
Chronic insomnia
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Computational Ecosystems: Tech-enabled Communities to Advance Human Values at Scale
Tuesday, November 7
2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Refreshments: 1:45 PM
MIT, Building 32 - G449, Kiva, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Haoqi Zhang , Northwestern University - EECS Department
Speaker URL: http://users.eecs.northwestern.edu/~hq/
Abstract: Despite the continued development of individual technologies and processes for supporting human endeavors, major leaps in solving complex human problems will require advances in system-level thinking and orchestration. In this talk, I describe efforts to design, build, and study Computational Ecosystems that interweave community process, social structures, and intelligent systems to unite people and machines to solve complex problems and advance human values at scale. Computational ecosystems integrate various components to support ecosystem function; the interplay among components synergistically advances desired values and problem solving goals in ways that isolated technologies and processes cannot. Taking a systems approach to design, computational ecosystems emphasize (1) computational thinking to decompose and distribute problem solving to diverse people or machines most able to address them; and (2) ecological thinking to create sustainable processes and interactions that support jointly the goals of ecosystem members and proper ecosystem function.
I present examples of computational ecosystems designed to advance community-based planning and research training, that respectively engages thousands of people in planning an event and empowers a single faculty member to provide authentic research training to 20+ students. These solutions demonstrate how to combine wedges of human and machine competencies into integrative technology-supported, community-based solutions. I will preview what's ahead for computational ecosystems, and close with a few thoughts on the role of computing technologies in advancing human values at scale.
Bio: Haoqi Zhang is the Allen K. and Johnnie Cordell Breed Junior Chair of Design and assistant professor in Computer Science at Northwestern University. His work advances the design of integrated socio-technical models that solve complex problems and advance human values at scale. His research bridges the fields of Human-Computer Interaction, Artificial Intelligence, Social & Crowd Computing, Learning Science, and Decision Science, and is generously supported by National Science Foundation grants in Cyber-Human Systems, Cyberlearning, and the Research Initiation Initiative.
Haoqi received his PhD in Computer Science and BA in Computer Science and Economics from Harvard University. At Northwestern he founded and directs the Design, Technology, and Research (DTR) program, which provides an original model for research training for 50 graduate and undergraduate students. With Matt Easterday, Liz Gerber, and Nell O'Rourke, Haoqi co-directs the Delta Lab, an interdisciplinary research lab and design studio across computer science, learning science, and design.
Contact: Linda Lynch, 617 715 2459, lindalynch at csail.mit.edu
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Marvin Kalb
Tuesday, November 7
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Harvard, Taubman 275, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
Marvin Kalb is a distinguished journalist, author, and the founding director of the Shorenstein Center. Kalb’s journalism career included three decades of award-winning reporting for CBS and NBC News as chief diplomatic correspondent, Moscow bureau chief, and anchor of NBC’s Meet the Press. Kalb is the Murrow Professor emeritus at Harvard Kennedy School and hosts The Kalb Report at the National Press Club. His 15th book, The Year I Was Peter the Great: 1956—Khruschev, Stalin’s Ghost, and a Young American in Russia, will be released in October 2017.
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The Migrant Passage: Survival Plays and Clandestine Journeys from Central America
Tuesday, November 7
4:00pm to 5:30pm
MIT, Building E40-496, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
The Migrant Passage draws upon over two years of in-depth, multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork along human smuggling routes from Central America across Mexico and into the United States to explore questions central to debates about human security, international borders and transnationalism. By tracing the survival strategies of Central American migrants during their journey, Dr. Brigden shows how their im/mobility reshapes the social landscape of Mexico and she explores the implications for the future of the nation-state.
Speaker: Noelle Brigden, Ph.D. (Cornell 2013) is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Marquette University. She teaches courses on international relations, human security, and migration. She held a 2013-2014 postdoctoral fellowship at the Watson Institute for International Studies. She has published in International Studies Quarterly, Geopolitics, Migration Studies, Antipode and Mobilities.
Free and open to the public | Refreshments will be served
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Built Positive Greenbuild Reception
Tuesday, November 7
5:30 PM – 8:00 PM EST
Fraunhofer USA Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, 5 Channel Center Street, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/built-positive-greenbuild-reception-tickets-38253907467
You are invited to an exclusive reception the evening before Greenbuild with William McDonough, FAIA, Int. FRIBA, world renowned architect, author, product designer, and Cradle to Cradle Co-Founder.
Join your materials-minded colleagues from across the Built Positive network at the Fraunhofer USA Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, which is walking distance from the Boston Convention Center. The reception will include drinks, hors d'oeuvres and the opportunity to connect with industry leaders involved in redefining the materials landscape to build a positive future.
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Launch Smart Clinic – Digital Health
November 7
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Foley & Lardner, 111 Huntington Avenue, Boston
RSVP at http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/event/launch-smart-clinic-digital-health/
Cost: $10 for Members; $30 Non-members: $10 for students
At the Digital Health Themed Launch Smart Clinic, startups present a 20-minute pitch for feedback from our panel of experts + the audience.
Launch Smart Clinics are a great place for startups to get constructive feedback on their pitch from a board-of-directors-level panel of experts and thoughtful audience members. The focus on early stage ventures encourages a sympathetic and supportive atmosphere. Audience and panel feedback often helps presenters understand their problems and offers useful tips and solutions.
Even if you’re not quite ready to present, we encourage entrepreneurs to attend the clinics to see what our panel of experts (investors and others) are looking for in a pitch, what kind of questions they ask and their suggestions for refining the business plan.
Presenting Companies
CarePassport lets patients consolidate and share all your medical data from anywhere universally.
CarePassport is a trusted platform for patients to aggregate and access all their medical data, including medical images, lab results, dental records, clinical reports, and more from different healthcare providers.
Consolidate medical data from a provider, imaging CD’s, an Apple watch, HealthKit, Fitbit, health forms, CDA files, JPEG and PDF documents. Track your health and access your data anywhere, from any device. It helps healthcare systems and providers to get a universal access to their patients and exchange medical data with them from outside sources.
Presenter: Mohamed Shoura, CEO
Siuvo Rooted in the development and application of artificial intelligence, Siuvo is devoted to consolidating the intelligence of human brains and the computational resource of computers to best assist and empower healthcare professionals. Siuvo provides an AI-based medical assistant to both doctors and patients. By sparing doctors from repetitive work, they are able to devote themselves on more valuable and creative tasks, such as working on more difficult and complicated medical cases. With their cutting edge customized user experience using AI, Siuvo can deliver the personalized functionality doctors need within a fraction of the time conventional app development companies require.
Presenter: Bin Shen, CEO, Siuvo
Panelists
Nikhil Bhojwani, Managing Partner, Recon Strategy® LLC
Barbara Clarke, Founding Principal of The Impact Seat / Angel Investor
Deb Kemper, Managing Director, GoldenSeeds
Sandra Nagale, Research Fellow, Boston Scientific
Moderators:
Ameeta Soni, Entrepreneur, Marketer, and Investor
Nikhil Pradhan, Attorney, Foley & Lardner LLP
Launch Smart Schedule
5:30-6:00 pm – Networking + Pizza
6:00 -6:15 pm – Industry Overview (Expert Presentation)
6:20-6:40 pm – Startup 1 Presents
6:40-7:00 pm – Small Breakouts: Audience + Experts
7:00-7:15 pm – Experts Share Consolidated Feedback From Breakouts
7:15-7:30 pm – Networking Break
7:30-7:50 pm – Startup 2 Presents
7:50-8:10 pm – Small Breakouts: Audience + Experts
8:10-8:25 pm – Experts Share Consolidated Feedback From Breakouts
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Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter
Tuesday, November 7
6:00 PM (Doors at 5:30)
Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.harvard.com/event/dan_ariely_and_jeff_kreisler/
Cost: $5 - $28.75 (online only, book included)
Harvard Book Store welcomes Duke University Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics DAN ARIELY and JEFF KREISLER—comedian, speechwriter, and advocate for behavioral economics—for a discussion of their book, Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter.
About Dollars and Sense
Blending humor and behavioral economics, the New York Times bestselling author of Predictably Irrational delves into the truly illogical world of personal finance to help people better understand why they make bad financial decisions, and gives them the knowledge they need to make better ones.
Why does paying for things often feel like it causes physical pain?
Why does it cost you money to act as your own real estate agent?
Why are we comfortable overpaying for something now just because we’ve overpaid for it before?
In Dollars and Sense, world renowned economist Dan Ariely answers these intriguing questions and many more as he explains how our irrational behavior often interferes with our best intentions when it comes to managing our finances. Partnering with financial comedian and writer Jeff Kreisler, Ariely takes us deep inside our minds to expose the hidden motivations that are secretly driving our choices about money.
Exploring a wide range of everyday topics—from credit card debt and household budgeting to holiday sales—Ariely and Kreisler demonstrate how our ideas about dollars and cents are often wrong and cost us more than we know. Mixing case studies and anecdotes with tangible advice and lessons, they cut through the unconscious fears and desires driving our worst financial instincts and teach us how to improve our money habits.
Fascinating, engaging, funny, and essential, Dollars and Sense is a sound investment, providing us with the practical tools we need to understand and improve our financial choices, save and spend smarter, and ultimately live better.
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Resilience & Our Built Environment
Tuesday, November 7
6:00 PM – 8:30 PM EST
CIC Cambridge - Venture Cafe, 1 Broadway, 5th Floor, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/resilience-our-built-environment-tickets-38555172559
Cost: $8 – $12
In the wake of an unprecedented season of concentrated and extreme environmental disasters – hurricanes, earthquakes, heat waves, drought, flooding and forest fires – one question looms large for millions of people: How on earth do we fix the systems we have or, in some cases, rebuild after these disasters?
Critical lifeline services like housing, energy, water, sanitation, waste treatment, transportation, and communication underpin our civil and economic needs. When collapse of these systems happens at scale (e.g. entire cities, states, nations), the instinct is naturally to want to get things back to normal as quickly as possible for those impacted. Doing things quickly does not traditionally lend itself to a high-quality outcome though, but if a longer-term solution means a slower recovery or greater cost, what is the choice?
Our guest speaker(s) will share select frameworks and strategies used by decision-makers to determine the resilience of the built environment around us and how it can either support or undermine our social and economic objectives. What have we learned from past experiences? How well is our current infrastructure designed to accommodate changes over time? What is the potential for emerging strategies, such as distributed energy services, water purification, solid waste treatment and other engineering innovations, to mitigate social and environmental disasters in the future?
Sarah Slaughter, Founder & Director, Built Environment Coalition
Dr. Sarah Slaughter is a recognized expert on resilience and sustainability for the built environment. She is the CEO and founder of the Built Environment Coalition, a research and education nonprofit (501c3) focused on community sustainability and resilience. She currently serves on the Green Building Advisory Committee (GBAC) to the U.S. General Services Administration on sustainable federal built facilities, and was recently a Visiting Lecturer in the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning on resilient urban communities. Before the Coalition, she was the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) Associate Director for Buildings and Infrastructure, and co-founder and faculty head of the Sustainability Initiative in the MIT Sloan School of Management. Previously, she was founder and CEO of MOCA Systems, Inc., and, before she founded MOCA, she was a MIT professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and earlier, was a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Lehigh University.
Dr. Slaughter is currently a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Construction. She was previously on the National Research Council (NRC) Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment (BICE), several Boards and committees for the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, and other national and international advisory committees. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Charles River Watershed Association. She received her PhD, SM, and SB from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Andrea Atkinson, Executive Director, One Square World
Andrea is a Executive Director of One Square World, a nonprofit dedicated to community-powered sustainable development worldwide. Andrea is a sustainability professional with a background in international relations, organizational management and sustainable community development. Andrea’s innovative community engagement and project management work for projects such as My Job Stories (a project of the Skees Family Foundation), NEXUS Green Building Resource Center, Down2Earth Boston, Elevate Destinations Haiti Volunteer Trips and philanthropic education programs has resulted in high-impact and high-profile outcomes for environmental and social change.
In the New England area, Andrea is creating a network of practitioners for regenerative development to provide a framework that benefits communities and the environment. In 2007, Andrea launched the NEXUS Green Building Resource Center, a first of its kind community center in the Northeast to promote and educate stakeholders implementing green building measures. Her work with New England Sustainable Energy Association resulted in a peer-to-peer educational network for energy efficiency providers and consumers in Massachusetts.
Andrea grew up in Brazil, Bolivia, and Niger and has traveled extensively. She has a degree in International Relations with a focus on sustainable development in Latin America and Africa from Boston University and a graduate certificate in environmental management from Tufts University.
Note: Additional speakers pending
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Smart Cities - Utility
Tuesday, November 7
6:00 PM to 8:30 PM
CDM Smith, 75 State Street, Suite 701, Boston
RSVP at https://www.meetup.com/Boston-DIG-Digital-Industrial-Group/events/244357055/
Welcome to the second event in our Smart Cities Series, where the topic this time is Smart Utilities.
Power, water, sewer, and other utilities are fundamental infrastructures required to support our modern communities and neighborhoods. As urban areas grow, we are faced with a question: Can we leverage data to understand a city as a holistic system, build a smarter city that is more sustainable, and better plan for future growth?
Please join us as innovators from public and private sectors share their experiences utilizing data in applications such as optimizing electricity and gas delivery, improving water management, and enhancing communication robustness. Stay tuned for more updates!
Agenda:
6:00-6:30pm Mix & Mingle with food & refreshments
6:30-7:30pm Presentations from corporates and startups panel members (~5 minutes each), followed by Q&A
7:30-8:30pm Organizer announcement + 30 sec shout-outs, followed by networking
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The Big Push: Exposing and Challenging the Persistence of Patriarchy
Tuesday, November 7
7:00pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge
For over a century and in scores of countries, patriarchal presumptions and practices have been challenged by women and their male allies. "Sexual harassment" has entered common parlance; police departments are equipped with rape kits; more than half of the national legislators in Bolivia and Rwanda are women; and a woman candidate won the plurality of the popular votes in the 2016 United States presidential election. But have we really reached equality and overthrown a patriarchal point of view? The Big Push exposes how patriarchal ideas and relationships continue to be modernized to this day.
Through contemporary cases and reports, renowned political scientist Cynthia Enloe exposes the workings of everyday patriarchy--in how Syrian women civil society activists have been excluded from international peace negotiations; how sexual harassment became institutionally accepted within major news organizations; or in how the UN Secretary General's post has remained a masculine domain. Enloe then lays out strategies and skills for challenging patriarchal attitudes and operations. Encouraging self-reflection, she guides us in the discomforting curiosity of reviewing our own personal complicity in sustaining patriarchy in order to withdraw our own support for it. Timely and globally conscious, The Big Push is a call for feminist self-reflection and strategic action with a belief that exposure complements resistance.
Cynthia Enloe is Research Professor at Clark University specializing in critical studies of militarism and transnational feminism. She has appeared on the BBC, Al Jazeera, and NPR and has written for Ms. and the Village Voice. She is the author of more than fifteen books, including Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives and The Curious Feminist Searching for Women in a New Age of Empire. Enloe was awarded the Howard Zinn Lifetime Achievement in Peace Studies Award from the Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA).
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Upcoming Events
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Wednesday, November 8 - Friday, November 10
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GreenBuild 2017
Wednesday, November 8 - Friday, November 10
Boston Convention Center
The international green building conference and expo of the U.S. Green Building Council will be held in Boston again next year. Persons interested in serving on the host committee or conference subcommittees should visit the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter website
More information at https://www.greenbuildexpo.com/en/home.html
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Wednesday, November 8
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Over the Horizon: Time, Uncertainty, and the Rise of Great Powers
Wednesday, November 8
12:00-1:30pm
MIT, Building E40-496, Pye Room, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
David Edelstein, Georgetown University
How do established powers react to growing competitors? The United States currently faces a dilemma with regard to China and others over whether to embrace competition and thus substantial present-day costs or collaborate with its rivals to garner short-term gains while letting them become more powerful. This problem lends considerable urgency to the lessons to be learned from Over the Horizon. David M. Edelstein analyzes past rising powers in his search for answers that point the way forward for the United States as it strives to maintain control over its competitors.
David M. Edelstein is an associate professor in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, the Center for Security Studies, and the Department of Government at Georgetown University. He is the author of Over the Horizon: Time, Uncertainty, and the Rise of Great Powers (Cornell University Press, 2017) and Occupational Hazards: Success and Failure in Military Occupations (Cornell University Press, 2008). He received his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Chicago and his B.A. from Colgate University.
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Genetics and Epigenetics of Adaptation to The Environment
Wednesday, November 8
4:00PM
Harvard, Biological Labs Lecture Hall, Room 1080, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge
Detlef Weigel, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology
My group is addressing fundamental questions in evolutionary biology, using both genome-first and phenotype-first approaches: (i) Where do new genetic variants come from? (ii) Why are some variants maintained for a much longer time than others? (iii) And why are some combinations of variants incompatible with each other?
The background for these questions is our population genomic work in Arabidopsis and the related genus Capsella. In collaboration with Bergelson, Ecker, Mott, Nordborg, Schmid and others, including Monsanto, we have been describing whole-genome variation in wild isolates of A. thaliana(http://1001genomes.org). This has, for example, led to the discovery of a Neanderthal-like group that has apparently survived since the Last Glacial Maximum. A similarly remarkable finding that emerged from the Capsella work with Neuffer, Slotte and Wright is the ubiquity of long-term balancing selection, specifically at immunity loci. On the other end of the spectrum, we are analyzing new DNA mutations and epigenetic variants that have arisen under laboratory conditions or in a natural mutation accumulation experiment. The latter studies, with Bergelson and Burbano, take advantage of an A. thaliana lineage that was apparently introduced to North America in historic times and accounts for about half the population there.
The ultimate goal of our top-down studies is to understand how genetic and epigenetic variation interact with natural selection to shape geographic patterns of diversity. One example is our efforts to predict which A. thaliana populations will and which populations will not be able to adapt to climate change.
OEB Special Seminar
https://oeb.harvard.edu/event/oeb-special-seminar-weigel
Contact Name: Wendy Heywood
wheywood at oeb.harvard.edu
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Should Law Foster Forgiveness?: A Lecture by Martha Minow
WHEN Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017, 4 – 5:15 p.m.
WHERE Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Law, Lecture, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S) Martha Minow, 2017-2018 Fellow, Radcliffe Institute; Carter Professor of General Jurisprudence, Harvard Law School; Vice Chair of the Board of the Legal Services Corporation
COST Free
CONTACT INFO events at radcliffe.harvard.edu
DETAILS Martha Minow's current work considers whether and when legal systems and rules should promote forgiveness. When people violate criminal laws, fail to pay debts, or run afoul of immigration laws, should law promote forgiveness by those who have been harmed? When should governments pursue amnesties, pardons, or alternatives to legally authorized sanctions? What should be unforgiveable? Looking at issues within the United States and at international debates over sovereign debt and treatments of child soldiers, her project considers legal, historical, religious, and cultural resources.
LINK https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2017-martha-minow-fellow-presentation
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The Potential for Solar Energy
Wednesday, November 8
5:00pm to 6:00pm
MIT, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street Cambridge
with Becca Jones-Albertus, Acting Deputy Director, U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office
Solar deployment has increased 100-fold in the past decade, yet solar energy supplies just 1% of U.S. electricity today. In a little over 10 years, solar is expected to grow to about 5% of U.S. electricity and hit 10-20% by 2050. But more is possible. With aggressive solar and storage technology cost declines and a focus on grid integration, the country could more than double that deployment. This talk will describe promising pathways for advanced solar technologies and for integrating solar with energy storage and other technologies. Becca Jones-Albertus will also look at the associated projections for solar deployment based on NREL's Regional Energy Deployment System model.
Speaker Bio: Becca Jones-Albertus is the acting deputy director for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, working to advance solar energy technology and accelerate market adoption with an annual budget of over $200 million (to date). The Solar Office has a history of working to reduce the cost of solar electricity through the SunShot Initiative and, with the rapid growth in solar deployment, is now expanding its emphasis on solving the challenges related to integrating large amounts of solar energy onto the grid.
Jones-Albertus has spent her career advancing solar technology, from fundamental research and development to manufacturing. Prior to joining the Department of Energy, Jones-Albertus was at Solar Junction, where she led efforts developing the company’s two-time world record solar cells and then transferring that technology to a high volume manufacturing toolset.
Jones-Albertus graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a BS in electrical engineering, and also holds a MS and PhD in materials science and engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. She has more than 10 patents and 30 technical publications.
Please note this is a public event and we will open our doors to unregistered participants 15 minutes before the event start time. To guarantee your seat, we recommend you register and arrive at least 15 minutes early.
If you are not able to attend, note there will be a high-quality recording of this seminar made available on our YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/MITEnergyInitiative about a week following the event.
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Decoding Maya Hieroglyphs with 3D Technology
Wednesday, November 8
6:00 pm
Harvard, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Barbara Fash, Director, Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions Program and the Gordon R. Willey Laboratory for Mesoamerican Studies, Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology
The Peabody Museum has conducted archaeological research in the Maya site of Copan, Honduras, since the 1890s. One of Copan’s most iconic elements is a staircase made of over 620 blocks carved with Maya glyphs. Dating back to the eighth century CE, this stairway has captivated Mayanists since its discovery, but the meaning of its texts has remained a mystery—until now. Barbara Fash will discuss how 3D technology and scholarly collaborations are merging to decode the Hieroglyphic Stairway, in conjunction with Honduran and international organizations aimed at conserving this World Heritage Site.
Presented by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology.
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Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance
Wednesday, November 8
6:00 PM (Doors at 5:30)
Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.harvard.com/event/bill_mckibben1/
Cost: $5 - $23.75 (online only, book included)
Harvard Book Store welcomes celebrated author and environmentalist BILL McKIBBEN—founder of 350.org, the first planet-wide, grassroots climate change movement—for a discussion of his debut novel, Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance. This event is co-sponsored by 350 Mass.
About Radio Free Vermont
A book that's also the beginning of a movement, Bill McKibben's debut novel Radio Free Vermont follows a band of Vermont patriots who decide that their state might be better off as its own republic.
As the host of Radio Free Vermont—"underground, underpowered, and underfoot"—seventy-two-year-old Vern Barclay is currently broadcasting from an "undisclosed and double-secret location." With the help of a young computer prodigy named Perry Alterson, Vern uses his radio show to advocate for a simple yet radical idea: an independent Vermont, one where the state secedes from the United States and operates under a free local economy. But for now, he and his radio show must remain untraceable, because in addition to being a lifelong Vermonter and concerned citizen, Vern Barclay is also a fugitive from the law.
In Radio Free Vermont, Bill McKibben entertains and expands upon an idea that's become more popular than ever—seceding from the United States. Along with Vern and Perry, McKibben imagines an eccentric group of activists who carry out their own version of guerilla warfare, which includes dismissing local middle school children early in honor of 'Ethan Allen Day' and hijacking a Coors Light truck and replacing the stock with local brew. Witty, biting, and terrifyingly timely, Radio Free Vermont is Bill McKibben's fictional response to the burgeoning resistance movement.
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Getting to the Point: A Conversation with the Authors of One Nation After T...
Wednesday, November 8
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM EST
Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, Columbia Point, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/getting-to-the-point-a-conversation-with-the-authors-of-one-nation-after-trump-tickets-38786200570
Cost: $0 – $35
One year after the 2016 election, many are still asking questions about President Trump’s rise to the presidency and where the nation will go from here. Two of Washington’s premier political scholar-journalists E.J. Dionne, Jr. and Norman J. Ornstein, will discuss President Trump’s election and the citizen activism it has inspired, as detailed in their new book, One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported, through a moderated conversation with Boston College History Professor Heather Cox Richardson.
How did our political system give rise to President Trump? What dangers does his administration pose to our free institutions? How can millions of Americans harness a renewed sense of citizenship and engagement? Dionne and Ornstein will discuss the current political climate, what the Trump presidency means for our political norms and institutions, and the importance of seizing on the renewed sense of civic responsibility and engagement in the American people.
A book signing will follow. Two ticket options are available, including general admission tickets (free), and premium tickets ($35; $30 for members). Premium tickets include the book and guaranteed seating. Free parking is available at the Institute.
Speakers: E.J. Dionne, Jr., Columnist for The Washington Post, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Professor at Georgetown University at EJDionne
Norman J. Ornstein, Resident Scholar the American Enterprise Institute and a contributing editor and columnist for National Journal and The Atlantic @NormOrnstein
Heather Cox Richardson, Professor of History, Boston College @HC_Richardson
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RIKERS: An American Jail (Film Screening)
WHEN Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017, 6:15 – 8:15 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Sperry Room, Andover Hall, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Film
SPONSOR Professor Matthew Potts
CONTACT Matthew Potts
DETAILS RIKERS: AN AMERICAN JAIL, a riveting new award-winning documentary from Bill Moyers, brings you face to face with men and women who have endured incarceration at Rikers Island. Their stories, told direct to camera, vividly describe the cruel arc of the Rikers experience—from the shock of entry, to the extortion and control exercised by other inmates, the oppressive interaction with corrections officers, the beatings and stabbings, the torture of solitary confinement and the many challenges of returning to the outside world.
From the website: http://rikersfilm.org/
LINK http://rikersfilm.org
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ROOM TO GROW: FARMING INTO THE FUTURE
Wednesday, November 8
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM EST
Le Laboratoire Cambridge, 650 East Kendall Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/room-to-grow-farming-into-the-future-tickets-39004761291
Le Lab Cambridge presents ROOM TO GROW: FARMING INTO THE FUTURE
A lively conversation moderated by Leah Mennies Group Editor, John Brown Media; food Journalist
Join our incredible panelists Chris Sherman, Bill Braun, and Dr. Deane Falcone,
for a forward-looking discussion about regional farming, sustainability, scalability, and what "eating local" looks like in the future
As usual, the talk is free.
Space is limited.
Door: 6:00pm
Talk: 6:30pm
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Journalist Speaker Tim Shorrock Speaks at Mass Peace Action (North Korea)
Wednesday, November 8
6:45 PM
American Friends Services Committee, 8 Hamilton Place, Boston
The war hawks are wrong when they say that negotiations don't make a difference. Tim Shorrock is an investigative journalist whose work has been featured in many publications including Huffington Post, The Nation, and The Los Angeles Times. He is an expert in US- Korean relations, US intelligence and foreign policy. He is the author of Spies for Hire, The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing (2008).
Recent articles include, "Diplomacy with North Korea has worked before, and Can Work Again"-- The Nation, Sept. 5 2017; and "America is not an innocent bystander in Korea," Febr. 2 2017 LobeLog.
He blogs at http://timshorrock.com
This talk will follow a rally to be held at 5:15 at Park St. Station.
http://masspeaceaction.org/event/diplomacy-with-north-korea-has-worked-before-and-can-work-again/
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The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President
Wednesday, November 8
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes acclaimed writer and Harvard Law professor NOAH FELDMAN for a discussion of his latest book, The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President. This event is co-sponsored by Mass Humanities.
About The Three Lives of James Madison
Over the course of his life, James Madison changed the United States three times: First, he designed the Constitution, led the struggle for its adoption and ratification, then drafted the Bill of Rights. As an older, cannier politician he co-founded the original Republican party, setting the course of American political partisanship. Finally, having pioneered a foreign policy based on economic sanctions, he took the United States into a high-risk conflict, becoming the first wartime president and, despite the odds, winning.
In The Three Lives of James Madison, Noah Feldman offers an intriguing portrait of this elusive genius and the constitutional republic he created—and how both evolved to meet unforeseen challenges. Madison hoped to eradicate partisanship yet found himself giving voice to, and institutionalizing, the political divide. Madison’s lifelong loyalty to Thomas Jefferson led to an irrevocable break with George Washington, hero of the American Revolution. Madison closely collaborated with Alexander Hamilton on the Federalist papers—yet their different visions for the United States left them enemies.
Alliances defined Madison, too. The vivacious Dolley Madison used her social and political talents to win her husband new supporters in Washington—and define the diplomatic customs of the capital’s society. Madison’s relationship with James Monroe, a mixture of friendship and rivalry, shaped his presidency and the outcome of the War of 1812.
We may be more familiar with other Founding Fathers, but the United States today is in many ways Madisonian in nature. Madison predicted that foreign threats would justify the curtailment of civil liberties. He feared economic inequality and the power of financial markets over politics, believing that government by the people demanded resistance to wealth. Madison was the first Founding Father to recognize the importance of public opinion, and the first to understand that the media could function as a safeguard to liberty.
The Three Lives of James Madison is an illuminating biography of the man whose creativity and tenacity gave us America’s distinctive form of government. His collaborations, struggles, and contradictions define the United States to this day.
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Raising Resilience: The Wisdom and Science of Happy Families and Thriving Children
Wednesday November 8
7:00 pm
Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Brookline
Christopher Willard
Drawing from growing bodies of research on social psychology and neuroscience, Raising Resilience is a practical guide for parents and educators from preschool through adolescence, detailing ten universal principles for happy families and thriving children.
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They Were My Friends: Jack, Bob, and Ted
Wednesday, November 8
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EST
Harvard Coop, 1400 Mass Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gerard-f-doherty-they-were-my-friends-tickets-38876462546
They Were My Friends is a rare, first-hand account of the behind-the-scenes work thatled to some of the most influential moments of the Kennedy brothers' political lives and how the son of a Boston firefighter got to be in the middle of it all. Gerard Doherty, the only man who had a seat at the table with all three Kennedy brothers, takes the reader through the history of Massachusetts politics and the golden age of the Kennedy political dynasty. Doherty ’s clever voice weaves the story of his unlikely rise to the top of Massachusetts political leadership and how he became the man behind the Kennedy political machine at key moments in history. He also shares behind -the -scenes accounts of his work helping President Jimmy Carter and President Lyndon Johnson win the White House. Mr. Doherty takes the reader back in time when tuberculosis and war were a daily concern of families and struggles of loss were real in every pocket of the neighborhood. He writes about the power of boyhood friendships and how the relationships that you welcome throughout your life can carry you through difficult times to triumph.
About the Author
Gerard F. Doherty was born and still lives in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston. He was educated at Malden Catholic High School, Harvard University and Suffolk University Law School. He was a two-time State Representative and MA State Democratic Party Chairman. He was active in the campaigns of Jack, Bob and Ted Kennedy and became their friend. He was also involved in the presidential campaigns of Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter. He built a successful law practice with a specialty in real estate development.
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Changing Distributions of Large Whales: How Climate, Oceanography, and Biology Influence Movement of the Largest Animals on Earth
Wednesday, November 8
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Simons IMAX Theatre New England Aquarium, Aquarium Wharf, Boston
RSVP at http://support.neaq.org/site/Calendar?id=107326&view=Detail
Dan Pendleton, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium
The mystery of how and why large whales know when and where to migrate has perplexed humankind for thousands of years – first in their attempts to hunt and kill them and now to save them from extinction and exploitation. Right and bowhead whales are among the largest animals on Earth, yet they feed on some of the smallest marine organisms, zooplankton. This connection through the food web dramatically highlights associations of species linked closely to climate-induced changes in the oceans, such as recent rapid warming of the Gulf of Maine. Large filter-feeding whales, as ecological sentinels, are therefore a highly visible sign of underlying ocean health and conditions. This lecture will explore pressing questions surrounding large whale conservation and describe cutting-edge quantitative methods being used to understand whale distributions in the Anthropocene.
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This is How We Do It: From sex evolution to sex education
Wednesday, November 8
7:00 – 9:00 pm
Harvard Medical School, Armenise Auditorium, 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston
More information at http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/seminar-series/
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Thursday, November 9
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Toward the Efficient Impact Frontier with Mike McCreless of Root Capital
When: Thursday, Nov 9, 11:45am-12:45pm
Where: MIT, Building E62-276, 100 Main Street, Cambridge
What: Mike will be presenting Root Capital's article "Toward the Efficient Impact Frontier" in the Winter 2017 Stanford Social Innovation Review. The article describes an approach by which impact investors can construct portfolios on the 'efficient frontier' of impact and financial performance, and manage impact alongside financial risk and return in a quantitative and holistic way.
RSVP: https://sloangroups.mit.edu/sustain/rsvp?id=359812
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Who is an environmentalist? Making “nature” at urban parks
Thursday, November 9
12:00-1:00pm
Tufts, Rabb Room, Lincoln Filene Center, 10 Upper Campus Road, Medford
Cathy Stanton & Shirley Wang, Department of Anthropology, Tufts University
Parks are paradoxical places where a sense of “nature” is carefully constructed, maintained, and regulated, often in ways that reinforce normative categories and behaviors. Through a pair of case studies at urban parks in coastal US cities, two anthropologists explore the ways that visitors, park staff and planners, state officials, and others express and negotiate what it means to be an environmentalist, and how that sits within often very different visions of parks as public or civic spaces. Cathy Stanton describes the tensions around her depiction of a Boston Harbor Island cottage community as environmentalists in a report commissioned by state officials overseeing the cottagers' displacement from a space being remade as “natural.” Shirley Wang presents a range of innovative understandings of environmentalism at two iconic San Francisco parks and asks about their potential to shift patterns of racial exclusion.
Cathy Stanton is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and the academic advisor for the Food Systems & Nutrition minor at Tufts. For many years she produced ethnographic studies for the National Park Service, including a recent project on Peddocks Island in Boston Harbor on which this talk is based.
Shirley Wang is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Tufts University studying anthropology. She is a Tufts Summer Scholar and received a grant to conduct fieldwork in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Her research data will be used for a 3-part audio- documentary podcast series called Neutral Grounds, as well as her senior thesis.
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Universal Healthcare: An Idea Whose Time Has Come? - Dr. Donna Shalala
WHEN Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE Online at hsph.me/Shalala2 or in The Leadership Studio, 10th floor Kresge Building
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Voices in Leadership @ HSPH
SPEAKER(S) Dr. Donna Shalala, former President of the Clinton Foundation
COST free
TICKET WEB LINK https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/voices/events/donna-shalala-former-president-of-the-clinton-foundation/
TICKET INFO https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/voices/events/donna-shalala-former-president-of-the-clinton-foundation/
CONTACT INFO Alison Barron - abarron at hsph.harvard.edu
DETAILS Universal Healthcare: An Idea Whose Time Has Come? - An event with the former President of the Clinton Foundation, Dr. Donna Shalala
Donna E. Shalala is Trustee Professor of Political Science and Health Policy at the University of Miami. She served as President of the Clinton Foundation from June 2015 to March 2017; President of the University of Miami from 2001 to 2015; President of Hunter College of the City University of New York from 1980 to 1987; and Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1987 to 1993. A political scientist, she has held professorships at Columbia University, the City University of New York (CUNY), and the University of Wisconsin.
One of the most honored academics of her generation, she has been elected to seven national academies: the National Academy of Education, the National Academy of Public Administration, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the National Academy of Social Insurance, the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and the National Academy of Medicine.
President Clinton nominated her as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 1993, and she served in that post for eight years. In 2008 President Bush presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award.
Please join us for this exciting talk!
LINK https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/voices/events/donna-shalala-former-president-of-the-clinton-foundation/
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Lebanon, Hezbollah and the Syrian Civil War
WHEN Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, CGIS Knafel 262, 1737 Cambridge St, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The WCFIA/CMES Middle East Seminar
SPEAKER(S) Augustus Richard Norton, Professor 'Emeritus' of Anthropology and International Affairs, Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University
CONTACT INFO elizabethflanagan at fas.harvard.edu
DETAILS Unless otherwise noted in the event description, CMES events are open to the public (no registration required), and off the record. Please note that events may be filmed and photographed by CMES for record-keeping and for use on the CMES website and publications.
LINK https://cmes.fas.harvard.edu/event/title-be-announced-9
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Racism and Medicine (an Equity and Social Justice Discussion)
WHEN Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Medical School, Tosteson Medical Education Center, Room 227, 260 Longwood Avenue, Boston
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership
SPEAKER(S) Keynote: Rahsaan Hall, Esq., Director, Racial Justice Program, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts
Panel: Luis Castellanos, M.D., M.P.H.; Nancy Krieger, Ph.D.; Audra R. Meadows, M.D., M.P.H.
COST No Cost. RSVP Requested.
TICKET WEB http:// www.surveymonkey.com/r/ESJ_11_9_17
CONTACT INFO teresa_carter at hms.harvard.edu
DETAILS The keynote presentation, "Reaping What We Sow: Structural Racism as a Driver of Health Disparities," will be followed by a panel discussion and reception.
LINK https://mfdp.med.harvard.edu/equity_and_social_justice/2017/racism_and_medicine
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Lecture by Award-Winning Artist Lynda Barry
Thursday, November 9
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM EST
BU College of General Studies, 871 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lecture-by-award-winning-artist-lynda-barry-tickets-39041240401
Award-winning painter, cartoonist, writer, and illustrator Lynda Barry will speak on creativity and the biological function of “the arts.”
Why do people wish they could write, sing, dance, and draw, long after they’ve given up on these things? Does creative activity have a biological function? There is something common to everything we call the arts. What is it? It’s something Lynda Barry calls ‘an image’, something that feels alive and is contained and transported by something that is not alive—a book, or a song or a painting—anything we call an ‘art form’. This ancient ‘it’ has been around at least as long as we have had hands, and the state of mind it brings about is not plain old ‘thinking’. This talk is about our innate creative ability to work with images and the biological function of this thing we call “the arts.”
Lynda Barry has worked as a painter, cartoonist, writer, illustrator, playwright, editor, commentator and teacher and found they are very much alike. The New York Times has described Barry as “among this country’s greatest conjoiners of words and images, known for plumbing all kinds of touchy subjects in cartoons, comic strips and novels, both graphic and illustrated.” Widely credited with expanding the literary, thematic and emotional range of American comics, Barry’s seminal comic strip, Ernie Pook’s Comeek, ran in alternative newspapers across North America for thirty years.
Lynda Barry will be delivering the annual Stanley P. Stone Distinguished Lecture. The Stanley P. Stone Distinguished Lecture Series brings notable, inspiring speakers to Boston University College of General Studies, inviting the CGS and BU community to broaden their educational experience related one of the College's academic division areas: humanities, social science, natural sciences, or rhetoric. The event is free and open to the public.
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Fighting for Justice with an Open Heart: Conviction, Empathy, and the Niebuhrian Imperative
WHEN Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, 5:15 – 6:45 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Sperry Room, Andover Hall, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture
SPONSOR HDS Dean's Office
CONTACT HDS Dean's Office, 617.495.4513
DETAILS Journalist and author E.J. Dionne, William H. Bloomberg Visiting Professor, will deliver the 2017 Horace De Y. Lentz Lecture. The title of the talk is "Fighting for Justice with an Open Heart: Conviction, Empathy, and the Niebuhrian Imperative."
Dionne is a distinguished journalist and author, political commentator, and longtime op-ed columnist for The Washington Post. He is also a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a government professor at Georgetown University, and a frequent commentator on politics for National Public Radio, ABC’s “This Week,” and MSNBC.
His most recent book, co-authored with Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann, is One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported.
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Brian Michael Bendis: The 2017 Julius Schwartz Lecture
Thursday, November 9
5:30pm to 7:00pm
MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing is thrilled to welcome award-winning comics creator Brian Michael Bendis, a New York Times bestseller and one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics, for the 2017 Julius Schwartz lecture.
For the last eighteen years, Brian’s books have consistently sat on the top of the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts. He is the co-creator and consulting producer of the Peabody Award-winning Jessica Jones on Netflix from Marvel TV. For Marvel entertainment, Bendis is currently the monthly writer of the bestselling Defenders, Jessica Jones, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy series.
The introduction of the multiracial Spider-Man, Miles Morales, made the front page of USA Today and went on to become an international hotbed political topic featured on Fox News, CNN, The Daily Show, Conan O’Brien, Howard Stern and many others.
The news of a new ‘Iron man’ character in the form of 15-year-old Riri Williams made massive international headlines when the story broke in Time magazine. Her solo debut as Invincible Iron man debuted in the top five nationwide.
Before that, Brian completed a 100 issue run on the X-Men franchise with the debut of ALL NEW X-MEN and UNCANNY X-MEN and 9 years helming Marvel’s popular AVENGERS franchise by writing every issue of the NEW AVENGERS plus debuting the hit books AVENGERS, MIGHTY AVENGERS and DARK AVENGERS along with the wildly successful ‘event’ projects AVENGERS VERSUS X-MEN, HOUSE OF M, SECRET WAR, SPIDER-MEN, SECRET INVASION, AGE OF ULTRON, SIEGE and CIVIL WAR 2.
In delivering the 2017 Julius Schwartz Lecture, Brian follows comics and science fiction legends Neil Gaiman (video) and J. Michael Straczynski (video).
The Julius Schwartz Lecture is hosted by the Comparative Media Studies/Writing program at MIT and was founded to honor the memory of longtime DC Comics editor Julius “Julie” Schwartz, whose contributions to our culture include co-founding the first science fiction fanzine in 1932, the first science fiction literary agency in 1934, and the first World Science Fiction Convention in 1939. Schwartz went on to launch a career in comics that would last for 42 years, during which time he helped launch the Silver Age of Comics, introduced the idea of parallel universes, and had a hand in the reinvention of such characters as Batman, Superman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, and the Atom.
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Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics
Thursday, November 9
6:00 PM (Doors at 5:30)
First Parish Church, 1446 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge,
RSVP at http://www.harvard.com/event/lawrence_odonnell/
Cost: $5 - $28.75 (online only, book included)
Harvard Book Store welcomes the host of MSNBC's The Last Word LAWRENCE O'DONNELL for a discussion of his latest book, Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics. This event is co-sponsored by Mass Humanities.
About Playing with Fire
The 1968 U.S. Presidential election was the young Lawrence O’Donnell’s political awakening, and in the decades since it has remained one of his abiding fascinations. For years he has deployed one of America’s shrewdest political minds to understanding its dynamics, not just because it is fascinating in itself, but because in it is contained the essence of what makes America different, and how we got to where we are now. Playing With Fire represents O’Donnell’s master class in American electioneering, embedded in the epic human drama of a system, and a country, coming apart at the seams in real time.
Nothing went according to the script. LBJ was confident he'd dispatch with Nixon, the GOP frontrunner; Johnson's greatest fear and real nemesis was RFK. But Kennedy and his team, despite their loathing of the president, weren't prepared to challenge their own party’s incumbent. Then, out of nowhere, Eugene McCarthy shocked everyone with his disloyalty and threw his hat in the ring to run against the president and the Vietnam War. A revolution seemed to be taking place, and LBJ, humiliated and bitter, began to look mortal. Then RFK leapt in, LBJ dropped out, and all hell broke loose. Two assassinations and a week of bloody riots in Chicago around the Democratic Convention later, and the old Democratic Party was a smoldering ruin, and, in the last triumph of old machine politics, Hubert Humphrey stood alone in the wreckage.
Suddenly Nixon was the frontrunner, having masterfully maintained a smooth façade behind which he feverishly held his party’s right and left wings in the fold, through a succession of ruthless maneuvers to see off George Romney, Nelson Rockefeller, Ronald Reagan, and the great outside threat to his new Southern Strategy, the arch-segregationist George Wallace. But then, amazingly, Humphrey began to close, and so, in late October, Nixon pulled off one of the greatest dirty tricks in American political history, an act that may well meet the statutory definition of treason. The tone was set for Watergate and all else that was to follow, all the way through to today.
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SUSTAINABILITY COLLABORATIVE
Thursday, November 9
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Venture Cafe at Cambridge Innovation Center, 5th floor, 1 Broadway, Cambridge
The Sustainability Collaborative was spurred as an outgrowth of the Sustainability unConference and aims to provide an ongoing platform for collaboration, connections, and solutions generation. Rotating sustainability advocates are given the chance to facilitate group discussion around central sustainability themes ranging from hunger alleviation to impact investing. The goal is to raise awareness within the innovation community while strengthening the social impact ecosystem.
Hosted monthly as part of The Venture Café Foundation’s Café Night at Kendall gathering.
Please reach out to Sierra Flanigan at sierra at coalesce.earth
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Wheelwright Prize Lecture: Erik L’Heureux, “Hot & Wet”
WHEN Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Gund Hall, Piper Auditorium, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Graduate School of Design
SPEAKER(S) Erik L’Heureux
CONTACT INFO events at gsd.harvard.edu
DETAILS "Erik L'Heureux, 2015 winner of the GSD's Wheelwright Prize, presents insights from his two years of travel and research for his Wheelwright project, “Hot & Wet.” “Hot & Wet” traces five dense cities across the equator from the large mega-cities of Asia and South America to the mid-scale cities found in India and Africa. Each city confronts rapid population growth, increasing climate change and extreme developmental pressures. The research follows architecture as a guide, framing the complex intertwining of atmosphere, climate, politics, and history at both the building and urban scale. From the recently burned Pasar Johar market by Thomas Karsten, to diminutive tower of Hassan Vogel, to the vestiges of Harry Weese, to the crafted Golconde Dormitory, and the stunning roofs of Vilanova Artigas, the “Grand Tour” of the torrid zone illustrates that architecture holds critically important agency in the transformation and aspiration of the equator.
L'Heureux's Pencil Office works on mid-scale building projects that combine the challenges of density, urbanization and specifics of the equatorial city. Each project is driven by the atmospheres of passive ventilation, day-lighting, thermal comfort, and durability. A language of simplicity and material detail produce works of meaning and importance. Pencil Office’s design leadership is by Erik L’Heureux. Erik migrated to the equator from New York in 2003. Despite his cool climate background, he has built a thriving and productive practice, with a specialty working on projects throughout South East Asia. The Office for Equatorial Intelligence in parallel operates as the research wing of his design practice and as an extension of his love for the Equator.
Anyone requiring accessibility accommodations should contact the events office at (617) 496-2414 or events at gsd.harvard.edu."
LINK http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/event/wheelwright-prize-lecture-erik-lheureux-hot-wet/
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Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam
Thursday, November 9
7:00pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge
he first battle book from Mark Bowden since his #1 New York Times bestseller Black Hawk Down, Hue 1968 is the story of the centerpiece of the Tet Offensive and a turning point in the American War in Vietnam. In the early hours of January 31, 1968, the North Vietnamese launched over one hundred attacks across South Vietnam in what would become known as the Tet Offensive. The lynchpin of Tet was the capture of Hue, Vietnam's intellectual and cultural capital, by 10,000 National Liberation Front troops who descended from hidden camps and surged across the city of 140,000. Within hours the entire city was in their hands save for two small military outposts. American commanders refused to believe the size and scope of the Front's presence, ordering small companies of marines against thousands of entrenched enemy troops. After several futile and deadly days, Lieutenant Colonel Ernie Cheatham would finally come up with a strategy to retake the city, block by block and building by building, in some of the most intense urban combat since World War II.
With unprecedented access to war archives in the U.S. and Vietnam and interviews with participants from both sides, Bowden narrates each stage of this crucial battle through multiple viewpoints. Played out over 24 days and ultimately costing 10,000 lives, the Battle of Hue was by far the bloodiest of the entire war. When it ended, the American debate was never again about winning, only about how to leave. Hue 1968 is a gripping and moving account of this pivotal moment.
Mark Bowden is the author of thirteen books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Black Hawk Down. He reported at the Philadelphia Inquirer for twenty years and now writes for the Atlantic, Vanity Fair, and other magazines. He is also the writer in residence at the University of Delaware.
Chris Daly lives near Boston and teaches at Boston University. Before that, he worked for many years for The Associated Press and for The Washington Post, where he was the New England correspondent.
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Friday, November 10
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Inside Private Prisons: An American Dilemma in the Age of Mass Incarceration
Friday, November 10
3:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store and Harvard Criminal Justice Policy Program welcome senior counsel in the Brennan Center's Justice Program LAUREN-BROOKE EISEN for a discussion of her latest book, Inside Private Prisons: An American Dilemma in the Age of Mass Incarceration. She will be introduced by Harvard Law School professor CAROL S. STEIKER.
About Inside Private Prisons
When the tough-on-crime politics of the 1980s overcrowded state prisons, private companies saw potential profit in building and operating correctional facilities. Today more than a hundred thousand of the 1.5 million incarcerated Americans are held in private prisons in twenty-nine states and federal corrections. Private prisons are criticized for making money off mass incarceration―to the tune of $5 billion in annual revenue. Based on Lauren-Brooke Eisen’s work as a prosecutor, journalist, and attorney at policy think tanks, Inside Private Prisons blends investigative reportage and quantitative and historical research to analyze privatized corrections in America.
From divestment campaigns to boardrooms to private immigration-detention centers across the Southwest, Eisen examines private prisons through the eyes of inmates, their families, correctional staff, policymakers, activists, Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees, undocumented immigrants, and the executives of America’s largest private prison corporations. Private prisons have become ground zero in the anti-mass-incarceration movement. Universities have divested from these companies, political candidates hesitate to accept their campaign donations, and the Department of Justice tried to phase out its contracts with them. On the other side, impoverished rural towns often try to lure the for-profit prison industry to build facilities and create new jobs. Neither an endorsement or a demonization, Inside Private Prisons details the complicated and perverse incentives rooted in the industry, from mandatory bed occupancy to vested interests in mass incarceration. If private prisons are here to stay, how can we fix them? This book is a blueprint for policymakers to reform practices and for concerned citizens to understand our changing carceral landscape.
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Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy
Friday, November 10
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes prize-winning economist DANI RODRIK—the Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government—for a discussion of his latest book, Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy.
About Straight Talk on Trade
Not so long ago the nation-state seemed to be on its deathbed, condemned to irrelevance by the forces of globalization and technology. Now it is back with a vengeance, propelled by a groundswell of populists around the world. In Straight Talk on Trade, Dani Rodrik, an early and outspoken critic of economic globalization taken too far, goes beyond the populist backlash and offers a more reasoned explanation for why our elites’ and technocrats’ obsession with hyper-globalization made it more difficult for nations to achieve legitimate economic and social objectives at home: economic prosperity, financial stability, and equity.
Rodrik takes globalization’s cheerleaders to task, not for emphasizing economics over other values, but for practicing bad economics and ignoring the discipline’s own nuances that should have called for caution. He makes a case for a pluralist world economy where nation-states retain sufficient autonomy to fashion their own social contracts and develop economic strategies tailored to their needs. Rather than calling for closed borders or defending protectionists, Rodrik shows how we can restore a sensible balance between national and global governance. Ranging over the recent experiences of advanced countries, the eurozone, and developing nations, Rodrik charts a way forward with new ideas about how to reconcile today’s inequitable economic and technological trends with liberal democracy and social inclusion.
Deftly navigating the tensions among globalization, national sovereignty, and democracy, Straight Talk on Trade presents an indispensable commentary on today’s world economy and its dilemmas, and offers a visionary framework at a critical time when we need it most.
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Not a Crime to Be Poor The Criminalization of Poverty in America (Hardcover)
Friday, November 10
7:30pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge
A nationally known expert on poverty shows how not having money has been criminalized in the U.S. today and shines a light on lawyers, activists, and policy makers working for a more humane approach
In addition to exposing racially biased policing, the Justice Department’s Ferguson Report exposed to the world a system of fines and fees levied for minor crimes in Ferguson, Missouri, that, when they proved too expensive for Ferguson’s largely poor, African American population, resulted in jail sentences for thousands of people.
As former staffer to Robert F. Kennedy and current Georgetown law professor Peter Edelman explains in Not a Crime to Be Poor, Ferguson is everywhere in America today. Through money bail systems, fees and fines, strictly enforced laws and regulations against behavior including trespassing and public urination that largely affect the homeless, and the substitution of prisons and jails for the mental hospitals that have traditionally served the impoverished, in one of the richest countries on Earth we have effectively made it a crime to be poor.
Edelman, who famously resigned from the administration of Bill Clinton over welfare “reform,” connects the dots between these policies and others including school discipline in poor communities, child support policies affecting the poor, public housing ordinances, addiction treatment, and the specter of public benefits fraud to paint a picture of a mean-spirited, retributive system that seals whole communities into inescapable cycles of poverty.
Peter Edelman is the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law and Public Policy and the faculty director of the Center on Poverty and Inequality at Georgetown University Law Center. He is the author of So Rich, So Poor: Why It’s So Hard to End Poverty in America (The New Press). A top advisor to Senator Robert F. Kennedy from 1964 to 1968, he went on to fill various roles in President Bill Clinton’s administration, from which he famously resigned in protest after Clinton signed the 1996 welfare reform legislation. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Randall Kennedy is Michael R. Klein Professor at Harvard Law School where he teaches courses on contracts, criminal law, and the regulation of race relations. He was born in Columbia, South Carolina. For his education he attended St. Albans School, Princeton University, Oxford University, and Yale Law School. He served as a law clerk for Judge J. Skelly Wright of the United States Court of Appeals and for Justice Thurgood Marshall of the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia and the Supreme Court of the United States. Awarded the 1998 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for Race, Crime, and the Law, Mr Kennedy writes for a wide range of scholarly and general interest publications. His most recent books are For Discrimination: Race, Affirmative Action, and the Law, The Persistence of the Color Line: Racial Politics and the Obama Presidency, and Sellout: The Politics of Racial Betrayal.
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Saturday, November 11 - Sunday, November 12
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Hacking Arts
Saturday, November 11 - Sunday, November 12
MIT, Building E14: Media Lab, 6th floor, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
RSVP for Saturday conference at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-hacking-arts-conference-2017-tickets-38480711845
Cost: $37.33 - $79.13
The fifth annual Hacking Arts Festival will bring together creative technologists, artists, innovators and hackers to explore the future of the arts at the annual Conference, Tech Expo and Hackathon.
More information at http://hackingarts.com
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Saturday, November 11
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Sustainable House of Worship Workshop
Saturday, November 11
8:30 am-12:30 pm
United Parish in Brookline, 210 Harvard Street, Brookline
RSVP at http://conta.cc/2xA7lP5. Advance registration closes on November 9.
Leading by example can be a powerful part of our moral responsibility to care for creation. Shrinking the carbon footprints at our houses of worship means lowers energy bills & more funds for other important purposes. Participants will learn what to do about:
Electricity — How to recognize the major energy hogs — and what to do about them.
Solar Power — What options are available and which is best for your congregation?
Heat & Air Conditioning — Is it time for an upgrade?
Building Envelope — How to increase comfort & save money.
Behavior — How simple actions can lower your energy bill – and carbon footprint.
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Smedley Butler Brigade - Veterans For Peace Invitation To March With Us On Armistice Day
Saturday November 11
12pm
Corner Of Beacon Street and Charles at the far end of Boston Common
We would be pleased to have you join us.
Put Your Marching Sneakers On? Armistice Day For Peace Saturday November 11, 2017
It is that time again. Every year for well over a decade we have had our Armistice Peace March behind the ?official? Veterans Day parade in Boston. We continue that tradition this year as well.
Meet at the Corner Of Beacon Street and Charles at the far end of Boston Common at Noon
We will form up at the corner of Beacon Street and Charles at the edge of the Boston Common at noon for an approximately 1 PM step off. (Depending when the ?officials? step off.) We will have flags, banners, etc. but you can bring your own posters especially this year around the war clouds forming over North Korea and Iran.
Armistice Day Program starts at Sam Adams Park in Fanuiel Hall at about 2:00 PM
After the finish of the march at City Hall Plaza we will walk across the street for our Armistice Day program at Sam Adams Park at Fanueil Hall from about 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM. This year?s MC will be our Smedley Butler Brigade-VFP coordinator Vietnam veteran Dan Luker. We are lining up speakers knowledgeable about the impending war clouds over Korea and Iran and the long continuing ones over Afghanistan. We will have music, poetry and other speakers. As usual we will have our canopy up where you can purchase VFP clothing, media, and buttons.
See you all on Saturday November 11th at noon at Beacon and Charles
thanks
Executive Committee-Smedley Butler Brigade-VFP
Editorial Comment: If you don’t know who Smedley Butler was, you should. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor twice, was a Marine Major General, the highest rank offered at the time, helped foil a coup d-etat against FDR, and wrote a book titled War Is a Racket, based upon his experiences in the military and what he saw in the wars he fought, from the Spanish-American War to WWI:
"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902–1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."
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A Discussion with Ricky Jay: Magicians, Cheaters & Remarkable Characters
Saturday, November 11
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST
John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center, 900 Boylston Street, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-discussion-with-ricky-jay-magicians-cheaters-remarkable-characters-tickets-38816425975
Ricky Jay, the renowned sleight-of-hand artist, author and actor will speak about his esteemed collection of books and images of magicians, cheaters and remarkable characters. Mr. Jay wrote for and appeared in the series Deadwood and in the films House of Games, Boogie Nights, Tomorrow Never Dies, and possibly Casablanca. He was the subject of a recent profile on the award winning PBS series American Masters. He is the former curator of the Mulholland Library of Conjuring and the Allied Arts. Among his many works are Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women and Jay's Journal of Anomalies, both New York Times notable books of the year. Last season his collection of drawings of the armless 18th century magician and calligrapher Matthias Buchinger was exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This is a special program as part of the 41st annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair (www.bostonbookfair.com). LIMITED CAPACITY. TICKETS ARE FREE BUT MUST BE RESERVED IN ADVANCE.
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Sunday, November 12
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The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims
Sunday, November 12
3:00pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge
Mustafa Akyol, author of The Islamic Jesus, discusses his book with Steve Watson, senior pastor of Reservoir Church in Cambridge.
When Reza Aslan's bestseller Zealot came out in 2013, there was criticism that he hadn t addressed his Muslim faith while writing the origin story of Christianity. In fact, Ross Douthat of The New York Times wrote that if Aslan had actually written in defense of the Islamic view of Jesus, that would have been something provocative and new.
Mustafa Akyol's The Islamic Jesus is that book.
The Islamic Jesus reveals startling new truths about Islam in the context of the first Muslims and the early origins of Christianity. Muslims and the first Christians the Jewish followers of Jesus saw Jesus as not divine but rather as a prophet and human Messiah and that salvation comes from faith and good works, not merely as faith, as Christians would later emphasize. What Akyol seeks to reveal are how these core beliefs of Jewish Christianity, which got lost in history as a heresy, emerged in a new religion born in 7th Arabia: Islam.
Akyol exposes this extraordinary historical connection between Judaism, Jewish Christianity and Islam a major mystery unexplored by academia. From Jesus Jewish followers to the Nazarenes and Ebionites to the Qu ran's stories of Mary and Jesus, The Islamic Jesus will reveal links between religions that seem so contrary today. It will also call on Muslims to discover their own Jesus, at a time when they are troubled by their own Pharisees and Zealots.
Mustafa Akoyl is a regular columnist for the Hurriyet Daily News, Al-Monitor.com, and the International New York Times. His prior book, Islam without Extremes, has been reviewed and quoted by The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Washington Post, NPR, The Guardian, National Review, and Washington Times. Akyol has appeared on Fareed Zakaria's GPS on CNN, Hardtalk on BBC, and TED.com. Islam without Extremes was long-listed for the 2012 Lionel Gelber Prize literary prize.
Steve Watson joined the staff of Reservoir Church as its senior pastor in July, 2013. Prior to that, he served as the headmaster of Watertown High School, as a middle- and high-school English teacher in the Boston Public Schools, and as a campus staff minister with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. In all of his endeavors, Steve has maintained great passion for teaching, coaching and mentoring, organizational and community development, and really good chocolate. Steve attended Brandeis University, where he graduated with a B.A. in music, and has immersed himself in graduate and self-directed studies in secondary English education, educational leadership, Bible, theology, and ministry—some of which have resulted in completed degrees.
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Monday, November 13
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Sustainability Analytics with Nancy Cleveland, Co-Founder of Sustrana
When: Monday, Nov 13, 11:45am-12:45pm
Where: TBD
What: Nancy Cleveland is a Principal and co-founder of Sustrana LLC, a sustainability management technology and consulting company. Nancy does consulting and leads content development for Sustrana’s online software service that enables businesses to manage and realize performance improvements through sustainability best practices. Nancy co-chairs the Governance and Sustainability sub-committee of the American Bar Association's Business Law Section. She is an FSA (SASB) and LEED® AP, and is trained under GRI and as a TSC Service Provider.
RSVP: https://sloangroups.mit.edu/sustain/rsvp?id=359813
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Charging Electric Cars—The Challenges
Monday, November 13
12:00PM TO 1:30PM
Harvard, Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
The Consortium for Energy Policy Research with Henry Lee, Jassim M. Jaidah Family Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Program, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, HKS. Lunch is provided.
Energy Policy Seminar
https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/cepr/seminar.html#fall2017
Contact Name: Louisa Lund
louisa_lund at hks.harvard.edu
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Arnold Arboretum Research Talk
Monday, November 13
12:10PM
Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill Lecture Hall, 1300 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain
Jason Lando, Research Geneticist, USDA-ARS Grape Genetics Unit, will discuss his research on understanding the genetic and phenotypic aspects of environmental stress tolerance and adaptation.
https://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/research/research-talks/
Contact Name: arbweb at arnarb.harvard.edu
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Building Theories – Architecture and an Ethics of Technology
Monday, November 13
12:30pm to 2:00pm
MIT, Building 7-429, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Franca Trubiano is Associate Professor and Associate Chair (Architecture) at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a Registered Architect with l'Ordre des Architectes du Quebec and an International Associate of the AIA. She conducts funded research in the areas of Advanced Energy Retrofits and Building Information Modeling. She teaches in construction technology, materials, theories of building, integrated design, architectural ecologies, and high performance buildings.
Franca is President of the Building Technology Educators Society (BTES) - http://www.btesonline.org/, where she was Treasurer/Secretary since 2011. She is also a founding member of the Editorial Board of the Journal - TAD ( Technology, Architecture and Design) and since 2014 has been a Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Architectural Education.
Her edited book Design and Construction of High Performance Homes: Building Envelopes, Renewable Energies and Integrated Practice (Routledge Press 2012), features 18 essays of which 6 were authored by her. In 2014, it was translated into Korean, by the Korean Research Institute of Environmental Architecture and launched as part of their 10th year anniversary. Franca has also published essays on the subject of high performance design in edited books Architecture and Energy (eds. Braham and Willis, Routledge Press, 2013) and Architecture and Uncertainty (ed. Benjamin Flowers, Ashgate Press, 2014). She is presently completing a manuscript for Routledge on building technology and architectural theory. Building Theories, Integrating Matter, Energy, Data, and Labor for a new Ethics of Architecture (Routledge), proposes an alternative definition of architectural theory; one that valorizes the as yet untapped potential of ‘thinking through building’.
Franca is a Principal Investigator and inaugural member of the Consortium for Energy Building Energy Innovation (CBEI) – formerly the Energy Efficient Building Hub, a US Department of Energy sponsored project. Her three year funded research is focused on the development of Integrated Design Roadmaps of use by all members of the AEC industry in pursuit of Advanced Energy Retrofits. Franca also conducts funded research on Building Information Modeling (BIM), developing both Facility Management processes for maximum applicability of BIM authoring models, as well as helping the National Masonry Institute develop BIM based protocols of value to the industry. Since 2014, Franca has also been an expert reviewer for the MIT-KUWAIT Signature Project on Sustainability where she will continue in this role until 2016.
MIT Department of Architecture / Fall 2017 Lecture Series
Building Technology Group, hosted by Caitlin Mueller
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Industrial Policy & Economic Development
Monday, November 13
12:30pm to 2:00pm
MIT, Building 9-255, City Arena, 105 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
The SPURS/Humphrey program is delighted to invite you to our fall seminar series: North American Planning Experience: Is It Relevant for the Developing World?
Our goal is to explore to what extent, and under what conditions, planning ideas generated from practice in the U.S. can travel to cities in the developing world and be implemented effectively. We’ll also consider whether planning ideas, practices and programs are traveling from the rest of the world back to the United States.
The sixth seminar is Monday, Nov 13, in the City Arena, 12:30 - 2 PM: Industrial Policy & Economic Development, with Jason Jackson and Balakrishnan Rajagopal, respondent.
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Writers Speak: Michael Ondaatje in conversation with Claire Messud
WHEN Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Memorial Hall, 45 Quincy St., Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Poetry/Prose, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Cosponsored by the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs’ Canada Program.
SPEAKER(S) Michael Ondaatje is the author of five novels, a memoir, a nonfiction book on film, and several books of poetry. His novel The English Patient won the Man Booker Prize, and his fourth novel, Anil’s Ghost, won the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, the Giller Prize, and the Prix Médicis. Born in Sri Lanka, Ondaatje now lives in Toronto.
Claire Messud, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing in the English Department at Harvard; author of numerous novels, most recently The Burning Girl (2017)
TICKET INFO free and open to the public; no tickets required
CONTACT INFO humcentr at fas.harvard.edu, 617-495-0738
DETAILS Book sale and signing to follow. Special thanks to Harvard Book Store.
LINK http://mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu/content/michael-ondaatje-conversation-claire-messud
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Transporting our innovation economy - Civic Innovation Conversation Series
Monday, November 13
5:30 PM – 9:00 PM EST
District Hall, 75 Northern Avenue, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/transporting-our-innovation-economy-civic-innovation-conversation-series-tickets-38714441938
Transportation systems are the arteries that carry the people to fuel our regional innovation ecosystem. As we have seen more concentration of people and companies (of all sizes) in the Greater Boston area, having a diverse and robust transportation network that adequately serves all is an important infrastructure element to plan and build. The quality of this infrastructure will drive how and where people will live, work and play now and far into the future.
Our Civic Innovation Conversation Series is returning to the topic of transportation innovation on Monday, November 13th, 2017 at District Hall. We will discuss the progress being made in ride sharing, parking, autonomous cars, pod transportation and more.
The speakers for the session are listed below:
Adrian Albus - Growth Strategy Leader, Zagster
Syed Gilani – CEO, Safr
Braden Golub – CEO, Parkeasier
Karl Iagnemma – CEO, nuTonomy
More to be announced
Moderator – Kevin Wiant
Agenda:
5:30 - Registration and networking
6 - 7:30 PM - Conversation and Q&A
7:30 PM - Reception
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Postcommodity: The Repellent Fence and Beyond
Monday, November 13
6:00pm to 8:00pm
MIT, ACT Cube (E15-001) 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Postcommodity will discuss their 2015 land art installation and socially engaged artwork Repellent Fence, and the implications of this work on their art practice, their future work, and the field of contemporary art as we approach the year 2043 (when the US transitions to a non-white majority).
Postcommodity is an interdisciplinary arts collective comprised of Raven Chacon, Cristóbal Martínez, and Kade L. Twist. Postcommodity’s art functions as a shared Indigenous lens and voice to engage the assaultive manifestations of the global market and its supporting institutions, public perceptions, beliefs, and individual actions that comprise the ever-expanding, multinational, multiracial and multiethnic colonizing force that is defining the 21st Century through ever increasing velocities and complex forms of violence.
This lecture is part of the Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT)'s Fall 2017 Lecture Series.
For more information on the series, see http://act.mit.edu/projects-and-events/lectures-series/about-pages/fall-2017-about-series/s
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Inside Private Prisons with Lauren-Brooke Eisen
Monday, November 13
7:00pm
Trident Bookstore, 338 Newbury Street, Boston
Join Lauren-Brooke Eisen as she discusses her new book and the subject of for-profit prisons and mass incarceration.
About the Book: From divestment campaigns to boardrooms to private immigration-detention centers across the Southwest, Eisen examines private prisons through the eyes of inmates, their families, correctional staff, policymakers, activists, Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees, undocumented immigrants, and the executives of America’s largest private prison corporations. Private prisons have become ground zero in the anti-mass-incarceration movement. Universities have divested from these companies, political candidates hesitate to accept their campaign donations, and the Department of Justice tried to phase out its contracts with them. On the other side, impoverished rural towns often try to lure the for-profit prison industry to build facilities and create new jobs. Neither an endorsement or a demonization, Inside Private Prisons details the complicated and perverse incentives rooted in the industry, from mandatory bed occupancy to vested interests in mass incarceration. If private prisons are here to stay, how can we fix them?
About the Author: Lauren-Brooke Eisen is senior counsel in the Brennan Center's Justice Program, where she focuses on changing financial incentives in the criminal-justice system. Previously she was a senior program associate at the Vera Institute of Justice in the Center on Sentencing and Corrections, served as an assistant district attorney in New York City, and taught criminal justice at Yale College and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
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Tuesday, November 14
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Digital Justice: Technology and the Internet of Disputes
Tuesday, November 14
12:00 pm
Harvard Law School, Griswold Hall, Room 110, Cambridge
RSVP required to attend in person at https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/2017/11/Katsh#RSVP
Event will be live webcast at 12:00 pm at https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/2017/11/Katsh
featuring author Ethan Katsh
Ebay resolves 60 million disputes a year and Alibaba 100 million. How do they do that? At the other less impressive extreme, in 2015 the IRS hung up on telephone callers 8.8 million times without making contact. Are there online solutions for that? Disputes are a “growth industry” on the internet, an inevitable by-product of innovation but often harmful to individuals. Drawing on his recent book, Digital Justice: Technology and the Internet of Disputes, (co-authored with Orna Rabinovich), Professor Katsh will consider opportunities for online dispute resolution and prevention in ecommerce, health care, social media. employment and the courts.
About Ethan
Professor Katsh is widely recognized as one of the founders of the field of online dispute resolution (ODR). Along with Janet Rifkin, he conducted the eBay Pilot Project in 1999 that led to eBay’s current system that handles over sixty million disputes each year. With Professor Rifkin, he wrote Online Dispute Resolution: Resolving Conflicts in Cyberspace (2001), the first book about ODR. Since then, he has published numerous articles about ODR and co-edited Online Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice, which received the International Institute for Conflict Resolution book award for 2012. The frequently mentioned metaphor of technology as a “Fourth Party” was first proposed in Katsh and Rifkin’s Online Dispute Resolution (2001).
Professor Katsh is a graduate of the Yale Law School and was one of the first legal scholars to recognize the impact new information technologies would have on law. In The Electronic Media and the Transformation of Law (Oxford University Press, 1989) and Law in a Digital World (Oxford University Press, 1995), he predicted many of the changes that were to come to law and the legal profession. His articles have appeared in the Yale Law Journal, the University of Chicago Legal Forum, and other law reviews and legal periodicals. His scholarly contribution in the field of law and technology has been the subject of a Review Essay in Law and Social Inquiry.
Professor Katsh has served as principal online dispute resolution consultant for the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), a federal agency mandated to provide mediation in Freedom of Information Act disputes. During 2010-2011, he was the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Haifa (Israel). He has been Visiting Professor of Law and Cyberspace at Brandeis University and is on the Board of Editors of Conflict Resolution Quarterly. He was principal dispute resolution advisor to SquareTrade.com and is Chairman of the Board of Advisors of Modria.com. His principal current research concern involves issues related to health care and, more particularly, to disputes over electronic health records (see How Patients Can Improve the Accuracy of their Medical Records).
Since 1996, Professor Katsh has been involved in a series of activities related to online dispute resolution. He participated in the Virtual Magistrate project and was founder and co-director of the Online Ombuds Office. In 1997, with support from the Hewlett Foundation, he and Professor Rifkin founded the National Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution at the University of Massachusetts. During the Summer of 1999, he co-founded Disputes.org, which later worked with eResolution to become one of the first four providers accredited by ICANN to resolve domain name disputes. From 2004 – 2010, Professor Katsh was co-Principal Investigator, with Professors Lee Osterweil and Lori Clarke and Dr. Norman Sondheimer of the UMass Department of Computer Science, of two National Science Foundation funded projects to model processes of online dispute resolution. This work was coordinated with the United States National Mediation Board.
Professor Katsh has chaired the International Forums on Online Dispute Resolution, held in Geneva in 2002 and 2003, Melbourne in 2004, Cairo in 2006, Liverpool in 2007, Hong Kong in 2007, Victoria (Canada) in 2008, Haifa (Israel) in 2009, Buenos Aires in 2010, Chennai (India) in 2011, Prague in 2012, Montreal in 2013, Silicon Valley in 2014, New York in 2015 and The Hague and Beijing in 2016 and in Paris in June 2017. Professor Katsh received the Chancellor’s Medal and gave the University of Massachusetts Distinguished Faculty Lecture in October 2006. In 2014-2015, he was an Affiliate of Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. He is the 2017 recipient of the D’Alemberte-Raven Award from the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution.
Links:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/digital-justice-9780190675677?lang=en&cc=us
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GSD Talks: Ronald Rael, “Borderwall as Architecture”
WHEN Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Gund Hall, 112 Stubbins, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Graduate School of Design
SPEAKER(S) Ronald Rael
CONTACT INFO events at gsd.harvard.edu
DETAILS "Despite recent attention to wall building as a security measure, the building of barriers along the U.S. – Mexico border is not a new phenomenon. The U.S. Secure Fence Act of 2006 funded the single-largest domestic building project in the twenty-first century and financed approximately 700 miles of fortification, dividing the U.S. from Mexico at a cost of up to $16 million per mile. Today, approximately one third of the 1,954-mile-long border between the U.S. and Mexico has been walled off. Ronald Rael will discuss his book, Borderwall as Architecture: A Manifesto for the U.S. – Mexico Boundary, a timely re-examination of what the physical barrier that divides the United States of America and both a protest against the wall and a projection about its future.
Anyone requiring accessibility accommodations should contact the events office at (617) 496-2414 or events at gsd.harvard.edu."
LINK http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/event/ronald-rael-borderwall-as-architecture/
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Gutman Library Distinguished Author Series: Race & Social Change: A Quest, A Study, A Call to Action
WHEN Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Gutman Conference Center - Area 3, 6 Appian Way, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Gutman Library
SPEAKER(S) Max Klau
DETAILS For his doctoral research at HGSE, Max Klau studied a provocative educational exercise that extends a long line of classic social psychology research, such as the Milgram obedience experiments and the Stanford Prison Experiment. This exercise essentially immersed a diverse group of students in a simulated Jim Crowe-style social system and challenged them to confront and transform it.
Race & Social Change: A Quest, A Study, A Call to Action, answers the question: What might we learn by observing three Civil Rights movements in a petri dish? The book integrates the author's own personal quest to understand matters of race and social change as a privileged white male. It ends with both a personal and national call to action.
Lunch will be served.
LINK https://www.gse.harvard.edu/event/gutman-library-distinguished-author-series-race-social-change-quest-study-call-action
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Opening Discussion for Feminist Archaeology
Tuesday, November 14
5:00 pm
Radcliffe, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2017-jennifer-bornstein-exhibition-opening
Please join artist Jennifer Bornstein RI '15 for an opening discussion and reception for her exhibition.
The opening talk will take place at 5 p.m. in the Knafel Center, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. The reception will immediately follow in the Johnson-Kulukundis Family Gallery.
Bornstein will be joined in conversation by Yukio Lippit, Johnson-Kulukundis Family Director of the Arts, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and Professor of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University and Jennifer L. Roberts, Arts Advisor, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and Elizabeth Cary Agassiz Professor of the Humanities and Harvard College Professor.
This gathering with Radcliffe fellows, Harvard faculty and staff, members of the arts community at Harvard, and beyond is open to the public and provides a chance to see the new exhibition and meet the artist.
Free and open to the public.
Feminist Archaeology is an interdisciplinary art project consisting of an original video projection with accompanying prints and sculptures. The exhibition explores different strains of feminism, which the artist has experienced both personally and through her research, and that have been somewhat at odds with one another over time.
The video component of the exhibition purposely conflates different historical periods of feminism. It includes moving-image media from several sources: 16mm film; HD; and Sony Portapak—an anachronistic 1970s video camera that shoots only black-and-white, standard-definition video. Portapak was frequently used by artists to make experimental, performance-based videos during the time period of the 1970s that coincides with the focus of this project’s artistic research. The print component of the exhibition consists of large-scale, 1:1 relief-type prints made using oil-based printing ink on canvas. The prints were created from pieces cut from a temporary drywall structure that was formerly in Harvard’s Carpenter Center. Segments of the drywall structure, which was built as a collaborative project by students in Visual and Environmental Studies (VES), and served as Bornstein’s classroom and as a video projection room while she was a visiting lecturer in VES, are also displayed in the exhibition as sculptural elements.
Research for Feminist Archaeology began in 2014–2015 during Bornstein’s fellowship year at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The research materials for the exhibition, which function partly as the project’s blueprint, come from the collections of Radcliffe’s Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America.
The artist would like to thank Harvard undergraduates Eriko Kay and Lily Scherlis, who contributed significantly to the development of the work, as well as VES students Ariana Chiavaron, Helen Miller, Billy Orman, Noel de Sa e Silva, Gleb Sidorkin, Kensho Tambara, and Sam Wolk for their help with the project.
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Drafting the Cape Cod Formula
Tuesday, November 14
5:15PM
Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston
The Massachusetts Historical Society hosts Jacqueline Gonzalez, Historical Research Associates with comment by Steven Moga, Smith College. Free and open to the public. A light sandwich supper will follow.
Boston Environmental History Seminar
http://www.masshist.org/research/seminars
Contact Name: seminars at masshist.org
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Boston New Technology “Health and Energy” Startup Showcase #BNT83 (21+)
Tuesday, November 14
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Draper’s Sembler Office, 1 Hampshire Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.meetup.com/Boston_New_Technology/events/244224231/
Enter the lobby from the entrance under the pedestrian bridge on the north side of Broadway. Please check in at our table on the left side of the lobby, presenting your identification to pick up your name tag.
Price: $12.00 /per person
Refund policy
Come learn about 7 innovative and exciting technology products and network with 150+ attendees from the Boston/Cambridge startup community! Dinner, beer, wine and more are included.
This event is 21+, due to alcohol being served. Valid photo identification is required.
Each presenter gets 5 minutes for a product overview & demonstration and 5 minutes for Q&A
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Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom
Tuesday, November 14
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes author, historian, and journalist RUSSELL SHORTO—best-selling author of The Island at the Center of the World—for a discussion of his latest book, Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom. This event is co-sponsored by Mass Humanities.
About Revolution Song
In his epic new book, Russell Shorto takes us back to the founding of the American nation, drawing on diaries, letters and autobiographies to flesh out six lives that cast the era in a fresh new light. They include an African man who freed himself and his family from slavery, a rebellious young woman who abandoned her abusive husband to chart her own course and a certain Mr. Washington, who was admired for his social graces but harshly criticized for his often-disastrous military strategy.
Through these lives we understand that the revolution was fought over the meaning of individual freedom, a philosophical idea that became a force for violent change. A powerful narrative and a brilliant defense of American values, Revolution Song makes the compelling case that the American Revolution is still being fought today and that its ideals are worth defending.
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Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns that Put Donald Trump in the White House
Tuesday, November 14
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EST
Harvard Coop, 1400 Mass Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/donna-brazile-hacks-the-inside-story-of-the-break-ins-and-breakdowns-that-put-donald-trump-in-the-tickets-38875658140
From Donna Brazile, former DNC chair and legendary political operative, an explosive and revealing new look at the 2016 election: the first insider account of the Russian hacking of the DNC and the missteps by the Clinton campaign and Obama administration that enabled a Trump victory.
Packed with never-before-reported revelations about what went down in 2016, Hacks is equal parts campaign thriller, memoir, and roadmap for the future. With Democrats now in the wilderness after this historic defeat, Hacks argues that staying silent about what went wrong helps no one. Only by laying bare the missteps, miscalculations, and crimes of 2016, Brazile contends, will Americans be able to salvage their democracy.
About the Author
Donna Brazile is the former Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and a contributor to ABC News. A graduate of Louisiana State University, Brazile worked on every presidential campaign from 1976 through 2000, when she served as Al Gore's campaign manager. In 2014, Brazile was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on to the board of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. She is founder and managing director of Brazile & Associates LLC, a general consulting, grassroots advocacy, and training firm based in Washington, DC.
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Science Priorities for the North Atlantic Region – A NOAA Fisheries Perspective
Tuesday, November 14
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Simons IMAX Theatre New England Aquarium
RSVP at http://support.neaq.org/site/Calendar?id=107288&view=Detail
Jon Hare, Science and Research Director, Northeast Fisheries Science Center
REGISTER
The mission of NOAA Fisheries is compelling and important. The agency is responsible for the stewardship of the nation’s living marine resources, including fisheries, aquaculture, protected species, habitats, and ecosystems. As Science and Research Director of the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), Jon Hare is responsible for the Northeast U.S. Shelf Ecosystem, which extends from North Carolina to Maine and includes watersheds, estuaries, the continental shelf, and the open ocean. The ecosystem supports a wide array of living marine resources, from Atlantic sea scallops, one of the most valuable, to the North Atlantic right whale, one of the most endangered, to Atlantic cod, one of the most iconic. A set of science priorities will be described for the region. These priorities aim to better understand this complex ecosystem and ultimately improve the stewardship mission of NOAA Fisheries.
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Thursday, November 16 - 5:00PM to Sunday, November 19 - 5:00PM
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Climate Reckoning: Paths to an Earth Restored
Thursday, November 16 - 5:00PM to Sunday, November 19 - 5:00PM
Harvard, Geo Lecture Hall (100), 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-reckoning-paths-to-an-earth-restored-tickets-37980907918#tickets
Cost: $20 - $200
Early bird rates available until October 31
Biodiversity for a Livable Climate and the Harvard Extension Student Environmental Club host this three-day conference addressing the Earth System and the universe of solutions that systems thinking makes possible.
With recent unprecedented wildfires, heat waves, super storms, droughts and floods, the climate is sending us messages that are impossible to ignore. It is increasingly clear: disasters like hurricanes Harvey and Irma are but dire warnings of what’s to come.
The scientific community now recognizes that even if we go to zero emissions tomorrow, the tragedies will continue to mount. If we think that our only option is emissions reductions, as essential as they are, we hit a wall with nowhere to go but resignation and despair. But when we add eco-restoration into the equation, a remarkable story emerges, one of renewal and hope.
Biodiversity for a Livable Climate is telling that story. When we began hosting conferences in 2014, the phrase “reverse global warming” was hardly spoken – it was presumed impossible in conventional climate science and activism. A fundamental cure, repair of Earth’s life-support systems, was off the table. Today, in collaboration with many wonderful people and organizations around the world, that story is rapidly changing. Eco-restoration is growing into a powerful global movement, a movement that needs us all.
In our previous nine conferences we helped usher in a new climate conversation, transforming gloom and doom into inspiration and action. Speakers from five continents have shown us how to bring dead landscapes back to life by restoring soil, native plant and animal species, and local water, carbon and nutrient cycles. Resulting living landscapes pull down excess carbon from the atmosphere, rehydrate the land, cool the biosphere, and produce nutritious food for humans and animals.
In this conference, Climate Reckoning: Paths to an Earth Restored, we’ll connect many dots linking biological systems, human endeavor and climate to expand this new and compelling story.
Contact Name: Paula Phipps
paula.c.phipps at gmail.com
Editorial Comment: The conferences of Biodiversity for a Livable Climate have been the most positive contributions to practical actions on ameliorating or even reversing climate change that I've attended. They always include expert practitioners from around the world who go far beyond what I've heard at Harvard, MIT, and the other universities on these topics. Mostly, the universities don't even know that these topics exist. If you are interested in climate change, this conference is more than worth your interest and attendance. The video proceedings of all their previous conferences are available at http://bio4climate.org
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Opportunity
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Greenfest Looking for Volunteers
10th Annual Boston GreenFest will be at Boston City Hall Plaza, August 11-13, 2017. It is the largest multicultural environmental music festival in the region featuring lots of local and international exhibits, performances, films, food, fashion and forums. Our goal is to educate and empower people to create a more sustainable, healthier world. We are actively building an interconnected, ever expanding network throughout our neighborhoods, city and region. From business to nonprofit, neighborhood association to academic institution, Boston GreenFest spans age, culture and industry. Celebrating our 10th anniversary, Boston GreenFest is excited to bring this wonderful free three-day festival to Boston City Hall Plaza as it is transformed into a fun interactive community classroom.
We are looking for volunteers to help throughout the weekend.
Please visit: http://www.bostongreenfest.org/
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New Climate CoLab Contests:
Adaptation
Buildings
Carbon Pricing
Energy Supply
Land Use Change
Shifting Attitudes & Behaviors
Transportation
More information at https://www.climatecolab.org/
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Discounted Solar for Somerville
As part of the State’s Solarize Mass program, local volunteers and the City of Somerville recently launched the Solarize Somerville campaign to make it easier and cheaper for residents and small businesses to install solar panels.
The program, which is offering information and guidance, free site consultations, and solar panel discounts through November, has set an ambitious goal to inspire at least 200 property owners to sign up for solar —and each of those private solar installations will also benefit the community directly. For every 400 kW in signed private contracts through the program, the program’s solar vendor SolarFlair will donate a system of up to 5 kW for a public or community purpose. All are invited to the program kickoff at a Meet the Installer event on Tuesday, July 26 at 6-7:30 p.m., 167 Holland St. Additional events on topics such as solar basics, financing, and solar for multifamily homes will be announced.
Unique to the program is its neighbor-to-neighbor approach: trained resident volunteers and a designated volunteer Solar Coach are available essentially as mentors. They can, for example, walk anyone through the process, provide general loan program and tax incentive information, and share their own solar experiences. The campaign’s webpage and blog offers useful information, tips, and a link to websites where you can estimate the solar potential of your home and roughly calculate how much solar could save you on your energy bills at www.somervillema.gov/sustainaville/solarize.
Somerville is one of the most urban communities ever to participate in Solarize Mass, which makes the neighbor-to-neighbor approach especially helpful due to some of the unique challenges here such as multi-family houses with more than one owner. Winter Hill resident Mary Mangan, the program’s volunteer Solar Coach, went through that process and is ready to share helpful tips.
"I'm excited to work with our eager volunteers to help our neighbors understand the benefits of solar power. As a co-owner of a two-family home with solar, I can also offer some insights about how that process went for us," said Mangan.
Also key to the program is the selection of a designated vendor, which allows the program to offer reduced cost installation through bulk purchasing. Through a competitive process, SolarFlair, based in Ashland, MA, was selected. They were also the selected installer for the communities of Arlington, Hopkinton, Mendon, Brookline, Carlisle-Chelmsford, Newton, and Quincy.
"We're excited to be the selected installer for Solarize Somerville, and look forward to speaking with any home or business owners that are interested in reducing their electric bills while also making a great investment," said Matt Arner, the owner and President of SolarFlair.
Quick facts:
Solar systems can be purchased outright (with a payback of about 4-5 years). The Mass Solar Loan program offers rates of 3.25% or less.
Or, for no money down owners can choose a power purchase agreement (PPA), where the system is owned and maintained by a third party, and residents buy back the electricity at a discounted price.
More on-site renewable energy is critical to reducing carbon emissions. It also saves money for residents.
Tax incentives for solar installations include:
Federal Tax Credit: A 30 percent federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is available for qualified residential and commercial projects
Massachusetts Personal Income Tax Credit: The lesser of 15% of the total cost of the solar electric system or $1,000, for qualified clean energy projects
Five-year Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS): Business owners can depreciate solar electric systems over a five-year schedule
For more information or to sign up for a free site consultation:
Visit the Solarize Somerville webpage at www.somervillema.gov/sustainaville/solarize for
Helpful information and FAQs
To contact a volunteer or Solar Coach Mary Mangan to discuss solar options and incentives
To set up an appointment for a free site consultation directly with SolarFlair
To find out about events
To volunteer for Solarize Somerville
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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. 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://somervilleyogurtmakingcoop.wordpress.com
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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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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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"Greening Our Grid" Report Released April 24, 2017
MAPC is excited to announce the release of “Greening Our Grid,” a fact sheet and a case study detailing MAPC’s strategy to use municipal aggregation to help build new renewable energy in New England.
“Greening Our Grid” highlights MAPC's work with the City of Melrose as a case study for MAPC's innovative green municipal aggregation strategy. Melrose recently completed its first year of implementation. The city’s results demonstrate that economic and environmental goals can be met simultaneously, and provide a compelling example for others to follow.
The case study and fact sheet further describe the renewable energy strategy overall, why it can have a real impact on our electricity grid, and MAPC’s program to help other municipalities follow Melrose's lead. Arlington, Brookline, Gloucester, Hamilton, Millis, Somerville, Sudbury, and Winchester are poised to roll out their green aggregations within the year.
MAPC believes that municipal aggregation offers an opportunity for communities to leverage the collective buying power of their residents and businesses to transform our electric grid to cleaner sources of energy, while also providing cost savings and price stability for electricity. The fact sheet and case study will be useful tools for cities and towns that are exploring green municipal aggregation, as well as for those that already have active aggregation programs.
Check out “Greening Our Grid” today at http://www.mapc.org/greening-our-grid, and contact Patrick Roche, MAPC Clean Energy Coordinator, at proche at mapc.org for more information about MAPC's program.
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Cambridge Climate Change Game
Extending our work on face-to-face games, the MIT Science Impact Collaborative has developed a digital game on the health impacts of climate change that you can play alone on your computer or on your mobile phone. The game should take about 10-20 minutes. We would appreciate it if you could play the game at your convenience.
Play the game at http://www.doublecoconut.com/climate/
Any and all feedback on the game should be directed to Ella Kim at ella at mit.edu.
Thank you for your time and consideration!
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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 - 41 (up from 27 in 2016) and counting: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zGHnt9r2pQx8.kfw9evrHsKjA&hl=en
Solidarity Network Economy: https://ussolidarityeconomy.wordpress.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://calendar.mit.edu
MIT Energy Club: http://mitenergyclub.org/
Harvard Events: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/harvard-events/events-calendar/
Harvard Environment: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
Sustainability at Harvard: http://green.harvard.edu/events
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
Take Action MA: http://takeactionma.com
If you have an event you would like to see here, the submission deadline is 11 AM on Sundays, as Energy (and Other) Events is sent out Sunday afternoons.
More information about the Act-MA
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