The People’s Climate March
“Is Earth fu**ed?” asked a provocatively titled talk at the 2012 American Geophysical Union, one of the largest gatherings of climate scientists in the world. Believing — like most scientists — that although planet Earth will continue to exist in the face of global warming, its inhabitants are indeed currently fu**ed, I decided to postpone laundry and lab and head to Manhattan for the People’s Climate March the Sunday before last.
Events Sept. 30 – Oct. 06
Events Sept. 30 – Oct. 06 Tuesday (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Iran, The Bomb, and Nuclear Disarmament: Understanding the call to eliminate nuclear weapons, sponsored by The Technology and Culture Forum at MIT and Massachusetts Peace Action — 32-155 Wednesday (5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) MTA Composer Forum presents Alvin Curran. sponsored by Music and Theater Arts and MIT Libraries — 14E-109i (MIT Lewis Music Library) (5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) How do physical spaces foster innovation? with speakers David Chang of Paypal and Nadeem Mazen of danger!awesome, sponsored by MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge — District Hall, 75 Northern Ave Thursday (4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) Muddled Information, with speaker Alex Frankel, sponsored by MIT/Harvard Theory Workshop — Littauer-M16, Harvard Friday (12:01 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Open mic in the Lewis Music Library, refreshments provided, sponsored by MIT Libraries — 14E-109 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) LSC shows X-Men: Days of Future Past, tickets $4 in Lobby 16 — 26-100 Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) HackMIT, sponsored by MIT TechFair — W34-101 Sunday (11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) China National Day BBQ, sponsored by CSSA and CAST — NW35-Hulsizer Monday (10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.) From Songs to Symbols, From Calls to Speech Graphs, with speaker Sidarta Ribeiro, sponsored by McGovern Institute for Brain Research — 46-3189 (3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) MOOCs: Open Education with Old and New Learners, with speakers Jeff Haywood and Lori Breslow, sponsored by Office of Educational Innovation and Technology — 4-270 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Sincerity on a day-to-day basis
It was a simple question really, but we often overlook the significance of simple questions. One day during the second semester of my senior high year in high school, a friend asked me in passing, “How are you doing?” I froze.
Events sept. 23 – sept. 29
Events sept. 23 – sept. 29 Tuesday (6 p.m. – 8 p.m.) LSC and Physics department show Particle Fever, $4 tickets in lobby 16 — 26-100 Wednesday (1 p.m. – 6 p.m.) Blood drive sponsored by Blood Drives and American Red Cross Team and Network — W20 (La Sala) (7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) MIT Energy Initiative Expo, sponsored by MIT Energy Club and MIT Energy Initiative — 3-270 Thursday (4 p.m. – 5 p.m.) Negotiating Job Offers workshop (advanced registration requested via CareerBridge), sponsored by MIT Global Education & Career Development — 1-190 (6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Mistakes in Science and Technology, with speaker Richard Levins of Harvard School of Public Health — 66-144 Friday (7 p.m. – 10 p.m.) European Short Film Festival, sponsored by MIT Hyperstudio, Comparative Media Studies/Writing, and MIT Global Studies and Languages — 10-250 (8 p.m. – 11 p.m.) Spain@MIT Welcome Dinner — NW86 Saturday (7 p.m. – 9 p.m.) LSC shows Back to the Future, tickets $4 in Lobby 16 — 26-100 Sunday (3 p.m. – 5 p.m.) MITHAS presents “Poetry in Motion”, an array of Indian Dance forms — W16 (Kresge) Monday (4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Planets and Life Series: The Keys to Habitability, Light to Life — 2-105 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Events Sept. 16 – Sept. 22
Events Sept. 16 – Sept. 22 Tuesday (12 p.m. – 1 p.m.) MIT D-Lab Open Hour — N51 3rd floor (4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Starr Forum: film screening of Documented and conversation with filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas — E15-070 (Bartos Theater) Wednesday (3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.) How the MIT Technology Licensing Office can help you protect and promote your technology, sponsored by CSAIL and Technology Licensing Office — 32-D463 (6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Film screening of Thomas Keating: A Rising Tide of Silence, sponsored by Religious Life, Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values, Buddhist Community at MIT, and Simmons Hall — W79 (Simmons) Thursday (8 a.m. – 1 p.m.) Choose to Reuse, dropoff starts at 8 a.m., pickup starts at 11 a.m., sponsored by Green Committee, Staff for Sustainability, Recycling Program — Lobby 13 (8 p.m. – 10 p.m.) Ampersand presents Shenandoah & the Night and Tredici Bacci — E15-070 (Bartos Theater) Friday (5 p.m. – 9 p.m.) Citizens Rising Anti-Corruption Symposium with Lawrence Lessig and Martin Gilens, see citizensrising.us — Kresge auditorium (5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.) MISTI Info Session (China/Singapore) — E40-496 Saturday (9 a.m. – 9 p.m.) Hack for Democracy Workshop on Money in Politics, with Lawrence Lessig, sponsored by The High Impact Network — Stata (1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.) The Ig Informal Lectures at MIT, featuring the Ig Nobel Prize winners, sponsored by The MIT Press Bookstore and The Annals of Improbable Research — 26-100 Sunday (9 a.m. – 2 p.m.) Swapfest, MIT’s monthly high-tech, computer, electronics, and ham radio flea market, $6 general admission, $4 MIT/Harvard student ID — N4, Albany St. garage and lots (7 p.m. – 9 p.m.) Bulgarian Independence Day Party, sponsored by Bulgarian Club at MIT and GSC Funding Board — NW30 Monday (7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) MIT Energy Week Flagship Expo, sponsored by MIT Energy Club — 34-101 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Institute Double Take
“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.” This especially beautiful sunset was brought to my attention shortly after 7 p.m. and was already a wealth of reds, oranges, and golds by the time I got out to Kresge with a Nikon D800 and 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. As someone who has only been shooting for a few months, my thought process is usually something along the lines of “Ahh! Colors! Button!” and most of my photos accordingly consisted of a visible foreground and blown out sky or a reasonable exposure of the sky replete with black landscape devoid of detail. Sunsets can be difficult to capture since the most radiant colors tend to last only 20-30 minutes, and this one was no different.
Events Sept. 09 – Sept. 15
Events Sept. 09 – Sept. 15 Tuesday (4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) The Search for 100 Earths, with speaker Debra Fischer of Yale, sponsored by Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research — 37-252 (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Go Global Fair, with on-campus global programs and other global program providers, sponsored by MIT Global Education & Career Development — Kresge Lawn (Bush Room in inclement weather) Wednesday (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) t=0 Hardware Innovation Night: 2014 Student Showcase, with speakers Neil Gershenfeld and Peko Hosoi of MIT Startups & Innovators, sponsored by Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship — N51 (MIT Museum) Thursday (2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.) How to Work a Career Fair, sponsored by MIT Global Education & Career Development (advanced registration requested via CareerBridge) — 35-225 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) t=0 Healthcare Innovation: 2014 Student Showcase, with speaker Michael Cima of MIT Healthcare Startups & Innovators, sponsored by Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship — N51 (IDC third floor) Friday (3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.) Technical Interviewing 101, featuring Google, sponsored by MIT Global Education & Career Development (advanced registration requested via CareerBridge) — 6-120 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) LSC shows The Fault in Our Stars, tickets $4 in lobby 16 — 26-100 Saturday (10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Boston Festival of Indie Games, tickets $10, sponsored by Comparative Media Studies/Writing — W34-101, 32-123, 32-124, 32-144 (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Space Racers: behind the scenes with the show’s creator, free with museum admission — N51 (MIT Museum) Sunday (6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Welcome BBQ and Mid-Autumn Festival, sponsored by the MIT Singapore Students Society — W16 (Kresge BBQ pits) (7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Chinese Association of Science and Technology Mid-Autumn Festival Party, showing “A Bite of China,” with food, drinks, and mooncakes, sponsored by GSC and CAST. Sign up at http://signup.mit.edu/2014MidAutumn — W20-491 Monday (1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.) 10 Simple Steps to Building a Reputation as a Researcher in Your Early Career, with speaker Micah Altman, Director of Research at MIT Libraries, registration online, sponsored by Postdoctoral Association, Office of the Vice President for Research, MIT Libraries — 46-3189 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Events Sept. 02 – Sept. 08
Events Sept. 02 – Sept. 08 Tuesday (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) Crepes and Camaraderie Evening, sponsored by Ashdown House and the Warehouse Graduate Dorm — NW35 (Ashdown) Courtyard (8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.) Contra Dance beginner’s night, with live folk music, free for MIT and Wellesley students, sponsored by Folk Dance Club — Kresge Rehearsal Room B Wednesday (11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Sidney Pacific Plant Sale — NW86, Sidney Pacific Courtyard Thursday (12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Coffeehouse Lounge Outdoor Concert: The Black Moons — W20 (Stratton Student Center Steps) (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Community Service Fair, hosted by the MIT Public Service Center — Kresge Oval Friday (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Student Loan Exhibition: Arts BBQ, celebration of arts on campus — E15 (List Visual Arts Center) (8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.) The Musical Theatre Guild presents Grease, $3 incoming MIT freshmen, $6 MIT and Wellesley students, $10 MIT affiliates, $15 general public — W16-035 (Kresge) Saturday (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) Oink, Oink, Cluck, Baaaaa! Eastgate Animal Petting Zoo, see and feed farm animals, sponsored by Eastgate Community Association and GSC Funding Board — E55 (Eastgate) Courtyard (1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.) Demo Day for the MIT Global Founders’ Skills Accelerator, sponsored by Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship — W16 (Kresge) Sunday (6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MIT Bangladeshi Students’ Association Fall Kickoff and Welcome Dinner, sponsored by MIT BSA and GSC Funding Board — 50-140 Monday (4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) Why You Can’t Find a Taxi in the Rain and Other Labor Supply Lessons from Cab Drivers, with speaker Hank Farber of Princeton University, sponsored by Public Finance/Labor Workshop — E62-650 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Events Aug. 26 – Sept. 1
Events Aug. 26 – Sept. 1 Tuesday (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Orientation Pizza Making with Hillel — W11 Main Dining Room Wednesday (11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.) Learning Fair, open-house event sponsored by GSC and MIT spouses&partners — W20-307 (Student Center) (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) European Club info session I with MISTI — 1-135 Thursday (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) MIT COOP at Kendall hosts VIP night for incoming freshman class of 2018 and new Sloan students, with food, giveaways, and discounts — NE-49 (MIT COOP) Friday (8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.) The Musical Theatre Guild presents Grease, $3 incoming MIT freshmen, $6 MIT and Wellesley students, $10 MIT affiliates and other students, $15 general public — W16-035 (9:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.) Sid-Pac orientation blacklight dance party, sponsored by Sidney-Pacific Graduate Community, LEF, and GSC Orientation — NW86 Saturday (2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Chinese traditional art workshop I (Guqin), Chinese tea and refreshments provided, sponsored by GSC Funding Board and Chinese Association of Science and Technology — NW10 (large lounge) (6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Summer Grill Night, sponsored by GSC Funding Board and Eastgate Community Association — E55 (Eastgate courtyard) Sunday (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Trial by Audience, or Musical Comedy Down to the Waistcoat, sponsored by MIT Gilbert and Sullivan Players, free admission — 4-237 Monday (5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Sid-Pac Orientation BBQ, sponsored by Sidney-Pacific Graduate Community, GSC Funding Board, MIT COOP BOOKS, GSC Orientation, H-Mart, Harvest CO-OP, and Whole Foods — NW86 courtyard Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Boston Comic Con
Boston Comic Con has grown so much in recent years that it increased from two to three days in length this year. I thought I might be too tired to experience BCC after attending San Diego Comic Con only two weeks earlier, but thankfully this convention offered a less intense atmosphere. More than anything else, the show focused on providing a venue for comics enthusiasts to meet and interact with some of their favorite artists and writers.
A comic based on real physics: Spectra
Editor’s Note: This interview was edited for clarity.
Three days at San Diego Comic-Con
After buying enough protein bars, beef jerky, and vitamins to sustain me for three days, I packed away all my food along with a space blanket and some sunscreen. I wasn’t going on a camping trip, though. I was headed to San Diego Comic-Con.
A day in the life of a modern-day Power Ranger
Editor’s Note: Some parts of this interview were shortened and edited for clarity.
Give blood to the tree
You can buy the Sport Death shirt, and the Roast shirt, and even the Lambda Sigma Delta jersey (complete with purity score!). But there is a special rite of passage for those who want to be a true Senior Haus resident. I am speaking, of course, of learning how to tire swing.
Mary Rowe retiring from role as ombudsman
The MIT Ombuds Office, according to its mission statement, “helps people express concerns, resolve disputes, manage conflicts, and learn more productive ways of communicating” and serves as a neutral resource to the MIT community. Last year, MIT’s two ombudsmen received about 800 visitors, who collectively raised 3800 different issues, including academic concerns, interpersonal problems, and requests for referrals. Mary Rowe, one of MIT’s ombudsmen, is retiring from her position this year.
THE NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK: The birds, the bees, and the flowers
It’s a romantic night. A young male bee, just out of his pupa, is looking for adventure. He spies another bee in the bushes, and from her scent, discovers that she is a female. He falls in love, and within a matter of seconds they are having sex. Then, something strange happens: she hits him on the head with a lump of pollen. Confused, he wanders off, and immediately falls for another beautiful bee. They too make love, and his new partner takes the pollen off of his head.
Five surprises at MIT
At MIT, you can walk a straight sixth of a mile indoors through the Infinite Corridor. You can get a pirate’s license if you take the right classes, take a pirate oath, and sign a waiver. Starting from the beginning of freshman year, you learn that the MIT community is full of interesting facts such as these, and an array of adventures. However, looking back as I prepare to graduate in June, there are several things that stand out as major surprises about my MIT undergraduate experience. They feel so obvious in hindsight, but these five revelations took me by surprise one at a time.
Hidden in “plane” sight
I love MIT, having spent the entire decade of the sixties here. After graduating in 1963 (Course 6), I stayed on to get a Ph.D. in 1970, and I’ve remained active as president of the class of 1963. Shortly after I retired in 2003, at the end of a 33-year career in electrical engineering and computer science, I started working as a volunteer mentor for MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service (“VMS” – see http://vms.mit.edu/). As a result, I find myself at MIT several times a month.
Events May 13- May 19
Events may. 13 – may. 19 Tuesday (5 p.m. – 6 p.m.) 14th Annual Henry W. Kendall Memorial Lecture with Dr. Richard Alley — E15-070, Bartos Theater (7 p.m.) MIT Chamber Music Society — Killian Hall Wednesday (11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.) 2014 Bike Awareness Day — W20 steps (2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.) xTalks: Big Data Where Art Thou? — 32-155 Thursday (5:30 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.) MIT Enterprise Forum Innovation Series Event: How Will Drones and Other Flying Robots Shape Your Everyday Life? — Johnson Rink Friday (5 p.m.) Daniel Manesh Senior Piano Recital — Killian Hall (7 p.m. – 11 p.m.) Anime;Brain?Reset! — 3-133 Saturday (4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) Celebrate Spring with Baby Animals: traveling petting zoo — Westgate (7:30 p.m.) MIT Ballroom Dance Club: End of Semester Social Dance — W20-La Sala Sunday (9 a.m. – 2 p.m.) Swapfest — N4 Monday (11 a.m. – 12 p.m.) xTalks: Carl Wieman on how to teach and learn expertise in STEM — 3-270 (1 p.m. – 2 p.m.) Can Crowdfunding Democratize Access to Capital? — E62-233 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Events May 06 – May 12
Events May 06 – May 12 Tuesday (5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Taste of India, with free food, performances, and dances, hosted by MIT Sangam and the GSC Activities Committee — Walker Memorial (7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.) MIT Chamber Music Society Jazz Combos Concert, sponsored by Music and Theater Arts — Killian Hall Wednesday (11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.) MIT Police Laptop Tagging and Registration, $10 cash or MIT cost object per item, sponsored by IS&T Computing Help Desk — Lobby 10 Thursday (12 p.m. – 1 p.m.) Energy 101 Session: An Introduction to Oil and Gas, sponsored by the MIT Energy Club — E51-325 (5 p.m. – 7 p.m.) Comparative Media Studies/Writing and the MIT Game Lab host Philip Jones and show his documentary “Gaming in Color” — E14-633 Friday (5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) MIT D-Lab Spring Showcase and Open House — N51, 3rd floor (8 p.m. – 11 p.m.) LSC shows Blue is the Warmest Color, tickets for sale in Lobby 16 for $4 — 26-100 Saturday (12 p.m. – 4 p.m.) Family Day at the List: Graphic Text Workshop, family-friendly tour at 2 p.m., free and open to all — E15 (8 p.m. – 10 p.m.) MIT Concert Choir and Orchestra: Verdi Requiem, free in advance via Eventbrite, $5 at the door — Kresge auditorium Sunday (11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) BBQ and frisbee to celebrate Lag BaOmer with MIT Hillel — Kresge lawn (7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.) MIT Vocal Jazz Ensemble performs the music of Irving Berlin — Killian Hall Monday (4:15 – 5:15 p.m.) Nuclear and Particle Physics Colloquium, with speaker Simona Murgia from UC-Irvine — 26-414 (6 p.m. – 7 p.m.) Texas Culture Night, sponsored by the Technology Policy Students Society — NW86-185 (Sid Pac seminar room) Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.