Weekly PDA Newsletter - June 12, 2016

Sun Jun 12 16:31:13 EDT 2016

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Dear MIT Postdocs,

Summer is for outdoors activities! So join us on Thursday for another round of Sports & Pizza with Volleyball, Soccer, and of course Pizza. Or try MIT Sailing ;)

Wish you all a great week!

Best,
Kathrin

P.S. And please participate in the National Postdoc Survey! Your 15 minutes of invested time can help us to advocate for better salaries and benefits for all of us!

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Dr.-Ing. Kathrin Graetz
Corresponding Secretary
Postdoctoral Association of MIT (PDA)
pda.mit.edu<http://pda.mit.edu/>                Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/groups/44093460815/>                Twitter (@MITPDA)<https://twitter.com/MITPDA>              Instagram (@mitpda)<https://www.instagram.com/mitpda/>                   LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/grps/MIT-Postdoc-2506720/about?>

Boston PDA: http://bostonpostdocs.org/             and               https://www.facebook.com/groups/1969262336632168/\<https://www.facebook.com/groups/1969262336632168/%5C>

Next PDA meeting:  June 13, 12pm @E25-202      (tomorrow)       register here<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-vT1gzgyik3JHFWaRgQwAVeVoiaoQFK7iP2MO4dtKwo/viewform>          Lunch will be provided!

This Week's Topics:

*       Upcoming PDA Events

o   Outdoor Volleyball, Soccer and Pizza @ Muddy's on Thursday, 5:30pm

*       From the PDA Committees

o   MyLife Services New

o   National Postdoc Survey

*       Postdoc Orientation Sessions

*       From the PDA PInG Initiatives

o   Glimpse

*       Other Events at MIT

o   Writing & Communication Center (MIT)

o   Brown Bag: Can Computers be Feminist? (Tuesday, 12pm)              New

Upcoming PDA Events:

Sports & Pizza Thursday - Outdoor
[cid:image005.png at 01D1C4C7.D25FBA40][cid:image007.png at 01D1C4C7.D25FBA40]PDA weekly sports event continues with 2 games this week! And we are moving outdoors so let's hope for great weather this Thursday. Join us for a friendly game of volleyball and/or soccer followed by pizza at Muddy's. Please, bring a valid ID and RSVP so we can order enough pizza
Date, Time and Location: Thursday, June 16th
Sand volleyball: 5:30 - 7:00 pm, sand pit between Buildings 62 and 64 (https://whereis.mit.edu/?go=62)
Outdoor soccer: 7:00 - 8:30 pm, Briggs Field (http://whereis.mit.edu/?go=G15)
Pizza at Muddy's: 8:30 pm MIT Building 50, 142 Memorial Drive, Cambridge (http://whereis.mit.edu/?go=50)
For all questions regarding the events, email the Sports Committee of PDA at jelenas at mit.edu<mailto:jelenas at mit.edu>
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=Sport%20Activities%20for%20MIT%20Postdocs

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>From the PDA Committees:

Human Affairs Committee: MyLife Services
Postdoc Associates and Fellows are eligible for services provided by KGA, Inc. through the Work-Life Center and MyLife Services.
MyLife Services<http://o6os.mj.am/link/o6os/xlkt8jnnqpg8/1/-kBne3WjUT8Ww6LEA98gxw/aHR0cDovL2hyd2ViLm1pdC5lZHUvd29ya2xpZmUvbWl0bXlsaWZlc2VydmljZXM> is a free, confidential, 24/7 counseling, consultation, and work-life referral service provided by KGA, Inc., a trusted external provider of employee assistance programs. You can now access a network of experts who can help with the challenges of life and work, such as:
Financial planning, debt management, and legal issues
Personal and work relationships
Sleep and nutrition
Stress, anxiety, depression, and other emotional concerns
Child and elder care

This includes 5 FREE confidential mental health counseling sessions, as well as access to 24/7 confidential counseling services.

We encourage you to learn more about MyLife Services by calling 1-844-405-LIFE (1-844-405-5433) or going online<http://o6os.mj.am/link/o6os/xlkt8jnnqpg8/2/y46EmaQ0aMF6d85vixaLTg/aHR0cDovL2hyd2ViLm1pdC5lZHUvd29ya2xpZmUvbWl0bXlsaWZlc2VydmljZXM>. You will hear more about MyLife Services later in the summer and early fall, and a postcard with additional details will be in your campus mailbox in the coming days. For more information or to provide feedback, please contact the MIT Work-Life Center<mailto:worklife at mit.edu>.

Advocacy Committee: National Postdoc Survey
What are your thoughts and opinions on your postdoc experience so far? An unprecedented nationwide postdoc survey is currently underway to collect data on postdoc issues across the country. The results will be analyzed and compiled into a journal article by University of Chicago researchers later this year. They have asked for MIT postdocs to participate in the survey. Here is a link to the survey:
https://redcap.uchicago.edu/surveys/?s=W87XWMKHWE

This survey will take no longer than 15-20 minutes of your time and results will be completely anonymous.
Best of all: Enter into a drawing for $200 travel awards to a scientific meeting of your choice! Additionally, one participant from MIT will randomly be selected for a $50 Amazon gift card.

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Postdoc Orientation Sessions:

The PDA offers Postdoc Orientation Sessions open to all postdocs at MIT. Topics covered include:
*       Data on postdoc population at MIT

  *   MIT oversight of postdocs
  *   Defining postdoc expectations
  *   Differences between fellows and associates
  *   PDA structure and initiatives
*       How to get involved
The sessions will be typically the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month at 12pm (45-60min) in E19-306. Lunch will be provided.
The dates for the next six months are as follows: June 20

If you are interested in participating, you can register via Atlas or using this link<http://web.mit.edu/training/course.html?course=CDT21061c>.

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>From the PDA PInG Initiatives:

[[GLIMPSE logo]]Glimpse:

Dr. Asha Patel is a postdoctoral fellow in the labs of Robert Langer and Daniel Anderson. Here, we discuss how to engineer materials for guiding stem cell growth and designing polymers for delivering therapeutics. Also, bioengineering research needs more pharmacists!
This is the second of a three episode series focusing on research at MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.For more information please visit:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Talar_Tokatlian
http://irvine-lab.mit.edu/

If you would like to be interviewed by GLIMPSE podcast or would like to help with the podcast (music, logo, artwork), please contact us at glimpse.podcast at gmail.com<mailto:glimpse.podcast at gmail.com>. For more information, please visit us at: http://glimpse.mit.edu/

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Other Events at MIT:

Writing & Communication Center (MIT)
Schedule one-on-one consulting sessions with professional writers<http://cmsw.mit.edu/writing-and-communication-center/>. The Center provides free professional advice from communication experts about all types of writing and speaking/oral presentations. Specialized help is available to non-native English speakers. It closes for part of the summer and reopens in the fall; see the note below. (Eligible: MIT undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs, faculty, lecturers and staff members.)
Note from the Center: MIT's Writing and Communication Center's (WCC) scheduler for July is now open. [Once you have registered for an account ] Go to our scheduler, move it forward to July 6, and you can sign up for appointments. The WCC is only open for the month of July.

This Week:

Brown Bag: Can Computers be Feminist? Procedural Politics an Computational Creativity with Gillian Smith (organized by MIT Libraries)           New
Computers are increasingly taking on the role of a creator-making content for games, participating on twitter, generating paintings and sculptures. These computationally creative systems embody formal models of both the product they are creating and the process they follow. Like that of their human counterparts, the work of algorithmic artists is open to criticism and interpretation, but such analysis requires a framework for discussing the politics embedded in procedural systems. In this talk, I will examine the politics that are (typically implicitly) represented in computational models for creativity, and discuss the possibility for incorporating feminist perspectives into their underlying algorithmic design.
Gillian Smith<https://www.northeastern.edu/camd/artdesign/people/gillian-smith/> is an Assistant Professor in Art+Design and Computer Science at Northeastern University, where she performs research and teaches in the game design program. Her research interests are in computational creativity, computational craft, and gender in games and technology. She publishes in venues such as ACM CHI, Foundations of Digital Games, and Digital Creativity. Her games have been shown at festivals including Alt.Ctrl.GDC, the Indie Arcade at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and ACM CHI. She received her PhD in Computer Science in 2012 from UC Santa Cruz's Center for Games and Playable Media.
Information Science Brown Bag talks, hosted by the Program on Information Science, consists of regular discussions and brainstorming sessions on all aspects of information science and uses of information science and technology to assess and solve institutional, social and research problems. These are informal talks. Discussions are often inspired by real-world problems being faced by the lead discussant.  Lunch is provided.  Please bring your own beverage.
Date and Time: Tuesday, June 14th, 12:00pm-1:00pm
Location: E25-401

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Free affiliate membership with the National Postdoctoral Association: http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/?page=individual_members

*NOTE: MIT is a Collegiate Rep of AWIS, so the MIT community can attend Mass AWIS (http://mass-awis.org/) events at the member price.
First, apply for your free membership through the national AWIS website http://www.awis.org/ as a Collegiate Rep and select the Massachusetts Chapter. Do this prior to registering for any events.

Other helpful sites:
postdocs.mit.edu (Office VPR)
MIT GECD Events<https://gecd.mit.edu/mit-events>
MIT Spouses&Partners Events<http://spouses.mit.edu/mit-events>
MIT Events<http://events.mit.edu/>

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MIT Employee Resource Groups
Join an Employee Resource Group (ERG) at MIT!
ERGs are employee-led groups formed around common interests, issues and/or a common bond or background. ERGs host activities such as lectures, socials, dinners, etc. Both Postdoctoral Fellows and Associates are invited to join.
Current ERGs include:
African, Black, American, Caribbean @MIT (ABAC at MIT) ERG
Asian Pacific American ERG
Latino ERG,
Lesbian, Gay, ,Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) ERG
Millennials ERG
Women in IT ERG
Check out the link for more information and upcoming events: http://hrweb.mit.edu/diversity/ergs/current

MIT+K12 Videos
MIT+K12 Videos<http://www.k12videos.mit.edu/> is an educational outreach media program. We produce original web series like Science Out Loud<https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzMhsCgGKd1hoofiKuifwy6qRXZs7NG6a> and #askMIT<https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzMhsCgGKd1j87LQK6UHs_YGiurvnvwXG> to spark curiosity about STEM among middle-high schoolers by showcasing the research and people of MIT. We are always looking for post-docs (of all disciplines) to be filmed for #askMIT (a video pen-pal/Q&A series), show visiting middle schoolers around labs, or serve as script content reviewers.
Please contact Elizabeth Choe (echoe) for more information or if you're interested in getting involved.

[cid:3EBF0234-8914-458A-B02B-6442DD6CB77E]MIT Sailing

Are you interested in sailing? The MIT sailing program offers you both dinghy sailing on the Charles, as well as bluewater sailing on X-Dimension, a 43-foot ocean racer-cruiser. X-Dimension offers trips to everyone in the MIT community (meaning you), including day trips around Boston harbor and longer trips to Provincetown, Martha's Vineyard, and summer cruises in Maine. No experience necessary, just an interest and the ability to swim. For more information visit http://sailing.mit.edu/bluewater/ and sign up for the mailing list at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/bluewater.

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