From MIT.WORLD at MIT.EDU Wed Nov 7 10:07:46 2007 From: MIT.WORLD at MIT.EDU (MIT.WORLD) Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 10:07:46 -0500 Subject: [Mitworld] New: Peter Singer on Global Poverty, Panel on the U.S. Israel Lobby Message-ID: <117107.LIMQXSRX@MIT.EDU> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MIT World - Newsletter - Volume 7 | Number 10 | November 7, 2007 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - View the latest additions to MIT World: - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [GLOBAL POVERTY: HOW DEMANDING ARE OUR OBLIGATIONS?] SPEAKER: Peter Singer Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University Laureate Professor, Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, University of Melbourne PLAY NOW: [QUOTE] "If we can prevent something bad without sacrificing anything of comparable moral significance, we ought to do it." -- Peter Singer EVENT HOST: Department of Philosophy ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [THE ISRAEL LOBBY AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY] SPEAKERS: Stephen Walt Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University John Mearsheimer Wendell Harrison Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago Bruce Riedel Senior Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution PLAY NOW: [QUOTE] "In practice, when Israel is acting in ways consistent with the U.S national interest, we should back Israel, and when it's acting in ways contrary to our national interest, Washington should distance itself from Israel and use its leverage to change Israel's behavior, just as the U.S. would do with any other country acting in ways that might harm it." -- John Mearsheimer EVENT HOST: Center for International Studies ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Engineering Systems Division Brunel Lecture on Complex Systems presents Paul F. Levy President and Chief Executive Officer of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Process Improvement in the Rarified Environment of Academic Medicine ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [SPONSORED LINK] MIT PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS is interested in what you have to say about distance education for busy professionals. We invite you to participate in a brief survey about Live Video Certificate Programs. Begin Survey To have your opinion counted, please complete this survey by Nov 15. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MIT World is a project of the School of Engineering's Professional Education Programs. SPONSORS Office of the Provost Office of the Vice President for Research School of Architecture and Planning School of Engineering School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences MIT Sloan School of Management School of Science MIT Alumni Association Industrial Liaison Program Office of the Vice President and Secretary of the Corporation PARTNERS Academic Media Production Services IS&T - DCAD Akamai Technologies RiverRun Media Send comments to: MIT World Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professional Education Programs 77 Massachusetts Avenue 35-433 Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 MIT World: http://mitworld.mit.edu/ --- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/mitworld/attachments/20071107/b657d4a2/attachment.htm From MIT.WORLD at MIT.EDU Tue Nov 13 17:04:00 2007 From: MIT.WORLD at MIT.EDU (MIT.WORLD) Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 17:04:00 -0500 Subject: [Mitworld] New: Celebrating Physics at MIT Message-ID: <1113174.KRGERKGR@MIT.EDU> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MIT World - Newsletter - Volume 7 | Number 10 | November 13, 2007 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - View the latest additions to MIT World: - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [THE IMPORTANCE OF BASIC RESEARCH IN PHYSICS AND OF MIT] SPEAKER: Charles H. Townes Professor of Physics, The University of California, Berkeley 1964 Nobel Laureate in Physics [SCIENCE, THE ENDLESS FRONTIER: THE CONTINUING RELEVANCE OF VANNEVAR BUSH] SPEAKER: Shirley Ann Jackson President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute PLAY NOW: [QUOTE] "Today, 50 years after Sputnik, we need to focus on another great global challenge: energy security and sustainability. I believe it is the space race of this century. We're in a race against time, as we were then. Success requires multiple sector collaboration, as it did then, but it requires a base rooted in fundamental research with no product in mind." -- Shirely Ann Jackson EVENT HOST: Physics Department ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [RENAISSANCE PHYSICISTS] SPEAKER: Robert B. Laughlin Robert M. & Anne Bass Professor of Physics, Stanford University 1998 Nobel Laureate in Physics [LEARNING FROM MIT] SPEAKER: Steven Weinberg Jack S. Josey-Welch Foundation Chair in Science and Regental Professor Director, Theory Research Group, Department of Physics, The University of Texas, Austin 1979 Nobel Laureate in Physics PLAY NOW: [QUOTE] "Our job is to make sure the concept of reason, the science of reason, does not perish from the earth." -- Robert Laughlin EVENT HOST: Physics Department ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Technology and Culture Forum at MIT presents Sir Jonathan Sacks Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth The Dignity of Difference ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [SPONSORED LINK] MIT PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS is interested in what you have to say about distance education for busy professionals. We invite you to participate in a brief survey about Live Video Certificate Programs. Begin Survey To have your opinion counted, please complete this survey by Nov 15. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MIT World is a project of the School of Engineering's Professional Education Programs. SPONSORS Office of the Provost Office of the Vice President for Research School of Architecture and Planning School of Engineering School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences MIT Sloan School of Management School of Science MIT Alumni Association Industrial Liaison Program Office of the Vice President and Secretary of the Corporation PARTNERS Academic Media Production Services IS&T - DCAD Akamai Technologies RiverRun Media Send comments to: MIT World Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professional Education Programs 77 Massachusetts Avenue 35-433 Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 MIT World: http://mitworld.mit.edu/ --- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/mitworld/attachments/20071113/9b3b8c31/attachment.htm From MIT.WORLD at MIT.EDU Fri Nov 16 11:34:33 2007 From: MIT.WORLD at MIT.EDU (MIT.WORLD) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:34:33 -0500 Subject: [Mitworld] New: Collective Intelligence Panel and Earth Systems Revolutions Message-ID: <11161134.TULBLRIL@MIT.EDU> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MIT World - Newsletter - Volume 7 | Number 12 | November 15, 2007 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - View the latest additions to MIT World: - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE] Can human beings, with the help of smart machines, not merely avoid "collective idiocy" but actually achieve a degree of intelligence previously unattainable by either humans or machines alone? These three panelists study the possibilities from different angles. MODERATOR: David Thorburn MIT Professor of Literature MacVicar Faculty Fellow Director, MIT Communications Forum PANELISTS: Thomas W. Malone Patrick J. McGovern Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management Alex (Sandy) Pentland Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, and Director of Human Dynamics Research, MIT Media Lab Karim R. Lakhani Assistant Professor, Technology and Operations Management Unit, Harvard Business School PLAY NOW: [QUOTE] "One hope of collective intelligence is that it takes the distributed and sticky pockets of knowledge that exist in the world and finds ways to aggregate them for us." -- Karim R. Lakhani EVENT HOST: MIT Communications Forum ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Electrons, Life and the Evolution of the Oxygen Cycle on Earth In part one of this 9-part series, Paul Falkowski reveals how our watery and rocky world underwent a massive transformation to become oxygen-rich and biologically diverse. SPEAKER: Paul G. Falkowski Board of Governors Professor of Geological and Marine Science in the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University PLAY NOW: [QUOTE] "In the last 150 years, we have extracted a huge amount of buried organic matter and consumed it at unprecedented rates...The result is a change in the temperature of the Earth and atmospheric concentration of CO2, far from thermal equilibrium." -- Paul Falkowski EVENT HOST: Center for Global Change Science ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Research Laboratory for Electonics Nanotechnology Public Lecture Series presents Mark A. Reed Associate Director, Yale Institute for Nanoscience and Quantum Engineering Yale University The Next Frontier: Bioelectronic Interfaces ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MIT World is a project of the School of Engineering's Professional Education Programs. SPONSORS Office of the Provost Office of the Vice President for Research School of Architecture and Planning School of Engineering School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences MIT Sloan School of Management School of Science MIT Alumni Association Industrial Liaison Program Office of the Vice President and Secretary of the Corporation PARTNERS Academic Media Production Services IS&T - DCAD Akamai Technologies RiverRun Media Send comments to: MIT World Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professional Education Programs 77 Massachusetts Avenue 35-433 Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 MIT World: http://mitworld.mit.edu/ --- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/mitworld/attachments/20071116/e7f36231/attachment.htm From MIT.WORLD at MIT.EDU Tue Nov 20 13:10:12 2007 From: MIT.WORLD at MIT.EDU (MIT.WORLD) Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:10:12 -0500 Subject: [Mitworld] New: J.H. Keenan's Contribution to Thermodynamics, the Evolution of Photosynthesis Message-ID: <11201310.AMDXLQCW@MIT.EDU> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MIT World - Newsletter - Volume 7 | Number 13 | November 21, 2007 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - View the latest additions to MIT World: - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [J.H. KEENAN'S CONTRIBUTION TO THERMODYNAMICS] This is the first lecture from the 2-day symposium, Meeting the Entropy Challenge, which examines Joseph Henry Keenan's influence on the field of thermodynamics. SPEAKERS: Ahmed F. Ghoniem Ronald C. Crane (1972) Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering Susan Hockfield MIT President Professor of Neuroscience George N. Hatsopoulos Chairman, American DG Energy PLAY NOW: [QUOTE] "The field (thermodynamics) has grown from a model of the heat engine to a set of fundamental principles that govern energy conversion in all forms." -- Ahmed Ghoniem EVENT HOST: Department of Mechanical Engineering ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [FROM ROCKS TO GENES AND BACK: STORIES ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS] In part two of this 9-part series, Dianne Newman explores the deep connection between bacteria and rocks ? specifically, the possibility that some varieties of ancient microorganisms gave rise over millennia to vast mineral deposits. SPEAKER: Dianne K. Newman Professor of Geobiology, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences and Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute PLAY NOW: [QUOTE] "When did the transition occur from an anaerobic world to aerobic world, as catalyzed by biological processes that produced oxygen.... The geochemical evidence is persuasive: around 2.4 billion years ago, we did transition into a world with an ozone layer, with appreciable oxygen in the atmosphere. But the intervening period is ambiguous, to say the least." -- Dianne K. Newman EVENT HOST: Center for Global Change Science ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Office of Government and Community Relations at MIT and the Cambridge Public Library present The Writing of Fantasy Susan Cooper The Dark is Rising Gregory Maguire Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West A panel discussion, moderated by Roger Sutton Editor in Chief The Horn Book Magazine ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MIT World is a project of the School of Engineering's Professional Education Programs. SPONSORS Office of the Provost Office of the Vice President for Research School of Architecture and Planning School of Engineering School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences MIT Sloan School of Management School of Science MIT Alumni Association Industrial Liaison Program Office of the Vice President and Secretary of the Corporation PARTNERS Academic Media Production Services IS&T - DCAD Akamai Technologies RiverRun Media Send comments to: MIT World Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professional Education Programs 77 Massachusetts Avenue 35-433 Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 MIT World: http://mitworld.mit.edu/ --- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/mitworld/attachments/20071120/ba2f46cc/attachment.htm From MIT.WORLD at MIT.EDU Tue Nov 27 14:48:11 2007 From: MIT.WORLD at MIT.EDU (MIT.WORLD) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:48:11 -0500 Subject: [Mitworld] New: Bedeaux on Statistical Mechanics, Barry on Flu Epidemics Message-ID: <11271448.BQYGCDKR@MIT.EDU> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MIT World - Newsletter - Volume 7 | Number 14 | November 27, 2007 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - View the latest additions to MIT World: - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [THE SECOND LAW AND STATISTICAL MECHANICS] Dick Bedeaux traces the evolution of the second law of thermodynamics from its formulation in the mid-19th century through today, from the perspective of statistical mechanics. SPEAKER: Dick Bedeaux Professor II of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway PLAY NOW: [QUOTE] "In order to understand exactly where the laws come from, we must go to a more fundamental, microscopic description. This implies that at the start of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics also became a subject of importance that the subject started to develop at that moment long ago." -- Dick Bedeaux EVENT HOST: Department of Mechanical Engineering ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN M. BARRY] In conversation with Richard Larson and Sanford Weiner, John Barry, author of The Great Influenza, discusses current understanding of the dynamics of a flu outbreak, and our general state of preparedness. SPEAKER: John M. Barry Author, The Great Influenza and Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America PLAY NOW: [QUOTE] "When did the transition occur from an anaerobic world to aerobic world, as catalyzed by biological processes that produced oxygen.... The geochemical evidence is persuasive: around 2.4 billion years ago, we did transition into a world with an ozone layer, with appreciable oxygen in the atmosphere. But the intervening period is ambiguous, to say the least." -- Dianne K. Newman EVENT HOST: Center for Engineering Systems Fundamentals ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MIT Museum Soap Box series presents Jacqueline Lees Associate Director, Center for Cancer Research Professor of Biology New Lessons in Cancer Research ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MIT World is a project of the School of Engineering's Professional Education Programs. SPONSORS Office of the Provost Office of the Vice President for Research School of Architecture and Planning School of Engineering School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences MIT Sloan School of Management School of Science MIT Alumni Association Industrial Liaison Program Office of the Vice President and Secretary of the Corporation PARTNERS Academic Media Production Services IS&T - DCAD Akamai Technologies RiverRun Media Send comments to: MIT World Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professional Education Programs 77 Massachusetts Avenue 35-433 Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 MIT World: http://mitworld.mit.edu/ --- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/mitworld/attachments/20071127/570f75e9/attachment.htm