From wihadley at mit.edu Wed Jun 3 10:16:41 2026 From: wihadley at mit.edu (Willamina Hadley) Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2026 14:16:41 +0000 Subject: [Sci-tech-public] Invitation - MIT STS Symposium for the 50th Anniversary of the Cambridge Recombinant DNA Debate - Friday, June 12th from 9-4:30 PM Message-ID: [cid:image001.png at 01DCF342.0F0996B0] The MIT Museum is proud to host an upcoming symposium, Existential Risk, Emerging Technology and Democracy: The Cambridge Recombinant DNA Debate 50 Years On, taking place on Friday, June 12, 2026, from 9:00 am to 4:15 pm. We invite you to step back in time to 1976, when the historic Cambridge City Council recombinant DNA debates took place. Through events, performances, and this symposium, we welcome you to participate in a unique way of celebrating the 50 year anniversary of this event, one of the many firsts and innovations that shaped the Kendall Square that we know today. Existential Risk, Emerging Technology, and Democracy: The Cambridge Recombinant DNA Debate, 50 Years On This day-long symposium brings together historians, scientists, policymakers, journalists, and artists for a conversation about how societies identify, debate, and govern world-changing technologies. The symposium asks questions that remain deeply relevant today, exploring key questions such as: who raises the alarm, how institutions respond, and how public trust is built and sustained over time. Hosted by Ian Coss, creator of GBH News' podcast The Big Dig, the symposium features Alexis J. Pedrick (Chief Storyteller and podcast host, Science History Institute), David Clem (former Cambridge City Council member), Luis Campos (Associate Professor of the History of Science and Technology, Rice University), Robin Scheffler (Associate Professor, Science, Technology, and Society Program MIT), Joy Y. Zhang (Professor of Sociology, University of Kent), and many more historians, scientists, policymakers, and journalists. June 12, 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Free for students with valid ID $10 for MIT ID Holders, $20 General Admission Lunch provided The symposium is presented in conjunction with the new theatrical production No Recombination Without Representation, with performances taking place at Sullivan Chamber in Cambridge City Hall. Both events are made possible by the generous support of Phil and Ann Sharp and MIT's Program in Science, Technology and Society. For registration, please visit: https://tickets.mitmuseum.org/events/019d9c32-bcd4-9740-773e-26b1f806ae05 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mina Hadley | MIT (she/her) Events and Communications Assistant Program in Science, Technology, & Society 508-808-4282 MIT_STS - Facebook - Instagram - LinkedIn - X On campus: Mon Tue Thu Remote: Wed Fri -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 5125575 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: