IAP 2019 Activities by Category - Miscellaneous

Max Gold

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Welcome to the second edition of A Brief History of Kanye. In this class, we will discuss the music, life and influence of Kanye West, one of today's most polarizing celebrities. We will journey chronologically through Kanye's life, analyzing his evolution as a person and as an artist; we will cover personal events that impacted Kanye’s music and how his albums and persona influenced hip hop and pop culture. 

Each class will be split into two sections: half will be dedicated to discussion of Kanye’s album(s) and half will be focused on important events in music, pop culture, and Kanye’s life that happened before the next album(s). Classes will typically be from 5:00 - 6:00 PM in room 4-270 on Tuesdays and Thursdays during IAP. The tentative schedule is below with the first class on Thursday 1/10...

1/10: Welcome to Kanye

1/15: The College Dropout

1/17: Late Registration / Graduation

1/22: 808’s and Heartbreak

1/24: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

1/29: Yeezus / The Life of Pablo

1/31: Kanye in 2018 (5:00 - 6:30)

Since this was an eventful year for Kanye (to say the least), the schedule has changed from last year. Now, the final class will focus on the good and bad from Kanye’s life in 2018. Anyone who graduated last year with their degree in ye-ology is more than welcome to come back on 1/31 to discuss this new material.

If you are interested, please sign up here to get email updates and so I can get a sense of potential class size https://goo.gl/forms/RXa1iqhD1FCk0Ubh2.

Contact: Maxwell Gold, MPGOLD@MIT.EDU

Herbert (Dick) Schulze '67

Jan/29

Tue

05:45PM-07:00PM

2-142

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/29

UPOP Mentor, Herbert R. ("Dick") Schulze ’67 presents an informative and engaging talk about unrecognized women inventors
 
True stories of women inventors who patented their inventions – including such fundamental advances as windshield wipers and spread-spectrum technology – so far ahead of their time that they went unrecognized and unrewarded, sometimes for years and sometimes for their entire lives.

A graduate of MIT, (EE) and the Univ. of Chicago law school, Dick is licensed to practice law in Cal., Col., Nev., and SD, and before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Following service as an Air Force JAG and a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Howard Turrentine in San Diego, he engaged in a general law practice in San Diego before specializing in intellectual property matters. He spent 20 years with Hewlett-Packard and its successor Agilent Technologies as managing counsel, Intellectual Property, supervising a staff of company attorneys and legal assistants in California, Colorado, Singapore, and Germany. Following his retirement from Agilent, he became Of Counsel to Holland & Hart LLP in Reno. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Covenant House California. Dick has two grown children and six grandchildren. When not practicing law, he can be found pursuing his second profession as a snowboard instructor at Northstar California ski resort, or cruising the twistiest roads of America on his motorcycle.

Register here

 

Sponsor(s): Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program -UPOP
Contact: Kate Moynihan, 1-123-B, 617 253-0041, KATEJM@MIT.EDU

Janet C. Johnston, Export Control Officer, Nicole Levidow, Compliance Administrator

Jan/16

Wed

10:00AM-12:00PM

NE18-913 (OSP)

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: None

Exports and export control are more than just international shipping. Anyone who works with technology needs to understand how export control regulations can constrain their research program. Export control regulates how certain technology, software, tangible items, and knowhow are shared with foreign nationals. We will highlight aspects of export control that are most relevant to your time at MIT. We will discuss pressing global issues that can affect how you conduct research and business throughout your career at MIT and beyond. This information is relevant to students, postdocs, faculty, and staff. Contact exportcontrolhelp@mit.edu for questions and to let us know if you plan to attend.

Sponsor(s): Office of Sponsored Programs, Office of the Vice President of Research, MIT Export Control
Contact: Nicole Levidow, NE18-901, 617 253-0460, NLEVIDOW@MIT.EDU

Srinivasan Raghuraman

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: None

Carnatic Music is a form of Indian Classical Music associated with South India. Unique in several respects, most first-indulgers and curious internet sweepers are likely to feel some or all of the following:

• This form of music utilizes more modes/pitches than others.
• This form of music calls for a lot of vocal/instrumental acrobatics.
• This form of music uses many complex rhythmic patterns.
• This form of music is boring!/It is hard to sit through a 3-hour concert!
• This form of music is unintelligible.

As is the bane of many classical art forms, a little understanding of the how Carnatic Music works would go a long way in actually appreciating it and enjoying it.

In this course, we will study Carnatic Music as an art form. Discussions will include (in no particular order)

• The history of the art form and its performance today.
• Technical aspects of the art form including sruti, rAga, tAla, etc.
• The role and various forms of improvisation or manodharma sangIta.
• Compositional aspects.
• Performance aspects

and much more. The expectation is that this course equips one with the necessary knowledge and skill set to appreciate and enjoy a Carnatic Music performance today. No prior knowledge in Carnatic Music or any other form of music is expected, only a desire to understand what makes Carnatic Music work.

Jan 7, 9, 11, 10 AM - 1 PM.

Venue: 2-105.

If you are interested, please fill this form so that I may get a sense of the class size and also email updates: https://bit.ly/2BDRmjt

Sponsor(s): SANGAM
Contact: Srinivasan Raghuraman, SRIRAG@MIT.EDU

---

Appreciating Carnatic Music

	Jan/07	Mon	10:00AM-01:00PM	2-105
	Jan/09	Wed	10:00AM-01:00PM	2-105
	Jan/11	Fri	10:00AM-01:00PM	2-105

Srinivasan Raghuraman, Srinivasan Raghuraman

Forrest Larson, Martin Marks

Jan/24

Thu

12:00PM-01:30PM

Lewis Music Library

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Before Pandora…. Before YouTube…. Before Spotify….. how did people experience recorded music? You’ve almost certainly heard music on CDs and perhaps also on vinyl LPs; but how did your grandparents or great-grandparents listen to music at home?

Martin Marks (Music and Theater Arts), Forrest Larson (Lewis Music Library), and possibly some surprise guests, invite you to take a ride in our Audio Way-Back Machine. We will experience some historical audio playback technology first-hand. Groove to the sound of our Edison wax cylinder player! Hear “His Master’s Voice” as it sounded on 78 rpm discs of bygone times! And more! This event will mark the MIT debut of the newest addition to our collection: the magical-sounding Regina music box. Join us in exploring the ways playback technology shaped the listening experience through the 20th century.

Sponsor(s): Libraries, Music and Theater Arts
Contact: Nina Davis-Millis, ninadm@mit.edu

Tony Pulsone, Beekeeper

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Limited to 30 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions

If you are thinking about becoming a beekeeper, there are many things to learn before embarking on the wonderful adventure of keeping bees – this course will provide you with a foundation to get started with this fascinating hobby. 

We will discuss honey bee biology and behavior, how to acquire your first bees, placement, beekeeping equipment, how to conduct inspections, seasonal management of your colonies, and being a good neighbor. Beekeeping 101 is perfect for people who are interested in bees and beekeeping – this is the course that will help you decide whether beekeeping is right for you.

 

Tony Pulsone is a second-generation beekeeper, and has kept his own bees for over eight years. He is a mentor to new beekeepers, Vice-President of the Middlesex County Beekeepers Association, and a member of both the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association and the Eastern Apicultural Society. He is enrolled in the Cornell University and University of Montana Master Beekeeper Programs, and is currently studying for the Master Beekeeper Certification for the Eastern Apicultural Society.

Contact: Tony Pulsone, 1-304, 617 253-2294, PULSONE@MIT.EDU

---

Bees and Beekeeping

Jan/07

Mon

05:15PM-06:45PM

3-370

History of Beekeeping and its importance. Occupants of the Hive: their life cycle, anatomy, and behavior

---

Colony Behavior, Placement, and Stings

Jan/09

Wed

05:15PM-06:45PM

3-370

Superorganisms. Sourcing Bees. Site Considerations. Laws regarding the keeping of Honey Bees. Allergic Reactions / Management of Bee Allergies

---

Equipment

Jan/10

Thu

05:15PM-06:45PM

3-370

Protective Clothing, Tools, Beehives (Components and Accessories, and everything else.

---

Spring and Summer Management

Jan/14

Mon

05:15PM-06:45PM

3-370

Installing Nucs and Packages. Inspections. Swarming and Swarm Prevention

---

Pests and Diseases

Jan/15

Tue

05:15PM-06:45PM

3-370

The unfortunate reality of modern-day beekeeping.

---

Fall and Winter Management

Jan/16

Wed

05:15PM-06:45PM

3-370

Every action a beekeeper takes should be towards one goal - getting their bees through winter.

---

Miscellaneous

Jan/17

Thu

05:15PM-06:45PM

3-370

Planting for Bees, Products of the Hive, et cetera.

David Roe

Jan/23

Wed

06:00PM-11:00PM

2-290

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

The Mathematics Department invites the MIT community for an evening of board games.  Games available will include Code Names, Dominion, Eclipse, Hanabi, Set, Seven Wonders, Splendor, and Terraforming Mars; you are also welcome to bring other games you'd like to play.  All are welcome, regardless of your experience with board games.  Feel free to drop by at any point in the evening.  Light refreshments will be provided.

Sponsor(s): Mathematics
Contact: David Roe, 2-252B, roed@mit.edu

David Roe

Jan/25

Fri

12:00PM-06:00PM

2-290

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

The Mathematics Department challenges all MIT bridge players to a team-of-four tournament. Those without a full team are welcome; we will do our best to help you find teammates.  Format will be either stratified round robin or Swiss teams, depending on number of participants. 

Prizes will be awarded. Come enjoy the refreshments and have a good time!

Sponsor(s): Mathematics
Contact: David Roe, 2-252B, roed@mit.edu

Sam Kanner, Joyce Wu

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/09
Limited to 15 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Fee: $20.00 for instruction **

CLASS IS FULL - WAITLIST IS FULL

 

Kyudo, Japanese archery, means the "way of the bow" and was considered the highest discipline of ancient Japanese samurai. Kyudo is based on standing Zen meditation used by Zen Buddhist monks as a means of cultivating self-awareness. Beginners will receive instruction in the basic form of kyudo.  Training will take place on the first day (1/19), followed by actual shooting on the second day (1/20). People are required to come on Saturday to be trained in order to shoot on Sunday.  Open to MIT only.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/misti/mit-japan

Cosponsored by Byakko Kyudo.

 

** Please make sure to pay your registration fee by Wed January 9.   You will forfeit your registration if you do not pay by January 9 and your place will be given to the next person on the waiting list. 

Sponsor(s): MIT Japan Program, Center for International Studies
Contact: Christine Pilcavage, x8-8208, csp18@mit.edu

---

Day 1

Jan/19

Sat

01:00PM-05:00PM

MAC Court

Kyudo training

Sam Kanner, Joyce Wu

---

Day 2

Jan/20

Sun

09:30AM-03:30PM

Rockwell Cage, North Court

Kyudo shooting

Sam Kanner, Joyce Wu

Shayla Rivera

Jan/29

Tue

03:30PM-05:30PM

E25-111

Enrollment: Registration requested: https://goo.gl/forms/XWbk5Ijyp3CUlzwF3
Sign-up by 01/29

Inspirational TEDx Speaker, Comedian & Professor Shayla Rivera

Funny Rocket Scientist, Inc.

The most important subject to study for anyone seeking true success is the one subject usually given the least amount of study, that subject is the self. I realized that I was going on through my existence feeling many times like I was dragging a great bag filled with some discomfort that I wasn't quite sure what it was. This affected my daily life in negative ways, the most common of which was keeping me from my best. I have made it my business to get to understand me and through that I have gotten to understand most others. Through paying attention, I can report that I found a way to get 'clear' about why I do what I do and this has opened the door to me changing the things I need to and want to change. Humor has been my saving grace and combining humor with respectful contemplation I can share ways to become clear and then free from what holds us back. However, I only point the path to the water and sometimes lead the horse there, ultimately the horse must decide to drink.

Self-exploration & contemplation have never been given importance in our modality of education; however, they are paramount to success. This workshop will offer tools & guidance to help find our way through the cobwebs of our own limiting beliefs. 

Co-sponsored by De Florez Fund for Humor, Institute Community & Equity Office, International Students Office, Student Activities Office, & Latino Employee Resource Group

Sponsor(s): International Students Office, Institute Community and Equity Office
Contact: Dana Riechman, E18-219S, 617 253-3795, RIECHMAN@MIT.EDU

Jared Sadoian '10

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Prereq: Participants must be 21 or older by 1/7/19 w/ a valid ID
Fee: $165.00 for cocktail ingredients and a full set of bar tools

Ready to go beyond gin-tonic and vodka-soda? Curious why some drinks are stirred and not shaken? Why do those mixologists have to have suspenders and handlebar moustaches, anyways? Get some hands-on experience this IAP learning about fine spirits, classic cocktails and bartending in a craft environment. You’ll taste, shake, stir, and strain your way through over 150 years of cocktail history, from the earliest definitions of a cocktail to modern drinks grounded in classic technique. You'll leave the course armed with the knowledge and tools you need to make delicious & beautiful drinks at home.

This two-part seminar will be led by staff of The Hawthorne, Bar Manager Jared Sadoian '10 and Head Bartender Rob Ficks. 

No experience is necessary, though just a splash of prerequisite reading will be sent out prior to the start of the course. 

Available Sections:
Section A -- from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Mondays, January 7 and 14.
Section B -- from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Mondays, January 7 and 14.
Section C -- from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Mondays, January 28 and February 4
Section D -- from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Mondays, January 28 and February 4. 

Participants are required to attend both meetings of their respective session. No partial discounts or refunds for missed meetings will be offered. No substitutions between sessions of different sections are allowed. Register Today!

Please direct your questions to cocktailclass@thehawthornebar.com.

Sponsor(s): Alumni Association
Contact: Elena Byrne, W98-206C, 617 252-1143, EBYRNE@MIT.EDU

---

Section A

	Jan/07	Mon	03:00PM-05:30PM	500 Commonwealth Ave
	Jan/14	Mon	03:00PM-05:30PM	500 Commonwealth Ave

Participants are required to attend both meetings of their respective session. No partial discounts or refunds for missed meetings will be offered. No substitutions between sessions of different sections are allowed.

---

Section B

	Jan/07	Mon	07:30PM-10:00PM	500 Commonwealth Ave
	Jan/14	Mon	07:30PM-10:00PM	500 Commonwealth Ave

Participants are required to attend both meetings of their respective session. No partial discounts or refunds for missed meetings will be offered. No substitutions between sessions of different sections are allowed.

---

Section C

Jan/28

Mon

03:00PM-05:30PM

500 Commonwealth Ave

Participants are required to attend both meetings of their respective session. No partial discounts or refunds for missed meetings will be offered. No substitutions between sessions of different sections are allowed. The second session will take place on February 4 from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m.

---

Section D

Jan/28

Mon

07:30PM-10:00PM

500 Commonwealth Ave

Participants are required to attend both meetings of their respective session. No partial discounts or refunds for missed meetings will be offered. No substitutions between sessions of different sections are allowed. The second session will take place on February 4 from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m.

Latonya Smith-Winston, Community Relations & Development Officer

Jan/10

Thu

12:00PM-01:00PM

32-144

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required

Credit cards are a great tool - as long as you use them wisely! In this seminar, we'll discuss why you should care about credit and tips for using credit wisely...for life! We'll talk about the Credit CARD Act of 2009 and what it means for you and how to build a solid credit history. 

The goal of this seminar is to make sure you understand how to use credit to your advantage. Remember, it's a great tool...as long as you use it wisely!

Register here.

Sponsor(s): MIT Federal Credit Union
Contact: Meghan Melvin, NE48, 617 715-4703, MBROWNCU@MIT.EDU

Davor Ljubenkov, visiting student

Jan/28

Mon

01:15PM-02:45PM

Building 9 Room 255

Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)

The Master School is a two-year masters programme with eight technical Majors and a Minor in Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

20 European top universities, renowned researchers and leading businesses are in partnership with EIT Digital to provide cutting-edge ICT excellence in combination with innovation and entrepreneurship training, leading to a double degree and an EIT-labeled Certificate.

If you are interested to spend your master studies in Europe with a possible scholarship, come and listen to the presentation from the current EIT student and see how you can already apply before February 1 for the cohort starting this fall, if needed we can go throught the requirements and details on motivation letter. Afterwards, feel free to discuss and ask questions about the education, culture and opportunities in Europe.

Presentation will be held by a visiting student at Senseable City Lab, Davor Ljubenkov who si doing his master thesis project as an EIT student.

See more: https://masterschool.eitdigital.eu/

Contact: Davor Ljubenkov, Senseable City Lab, +385981388664, DLJUBENK@MIT.EDU

Dr. Jenn Burt, Torres Postdoctoral Fellow

Jan/28

Mon

03:30PM-04:00PM

Marlar Lounge 37-252

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none

Abstract:
The beginning of the TESS spacecraft’s science mission in mid 2018 promises the detection of thousands of exoplanets orbiting bright, nearby stars. These planets will provide astronomers with our best ever opportunity to mount extensive follow up observation efforts and try to understand the composition, distribution and evolution of planets in our galaxy. This talk will describe the anticipated TESS planet yield, its impact on the exoplanet field, and some of the follow up methods that astronomers will use to probe the composition of the planets’ rocky cores and/or gaseous outer atmospheres.

 

 

Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU

Dr. Norbert Schulz

Jan/31

Thu

02:00PM-04:00PM

Marlar Lounge 37-252, driver's license/passport needed for tour

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/28
Limited to 20 participants
Prereq: attend 2:00pm talk to take Chandra OCC tour that follows

Exploring the Universe from Near to Far with the Chandra X-ray Observatory

In the summer of 1999, NASA launched the third of its great observatories--the Chandra X-ray telescope. Like the Hubble Space telescope which preceded it, Chandra is designed to have an unprecedented ability to create images and spectra of astrophysical objects, except working with high energy X-rays instead of optical light. This means that Chandra views some of the universe's most exotic and energetic phenomena: supernovae, neutron stars, black holes, jets traveling at nearly the speed of light emanating from near the center of clusters of galaxies. In this talk, we'll take a tour of the discoveries made by the Chandra X-ray telescope, starting with studies of our own solar system, moving outward to nearby stars, to the center of our own Galaxy where a black hole 40 millions times the mass of our Sun lurks, to distant clusters of Galaxies where the most massive black holes, billions of times the mass of our Sun, reside.

Tour of Operations Control Center for Chandra X-ray Observatory

Tour signup deadline: Mon, Jan 28 @ 12noon.  Email meinbres@mit.edu your first & last name (as it appears on your ID) & country of your citizenship. Tour attendance will be confirmed by end of day Jan 29.

Tour departs 37-252 shortly after 2:30pm. Walk as a group to NE83.

The tour is limited to the first 20 people who sign up by Jan 28 @ noon. No enrollment limit for talks preceding tour.

Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU

Steve Finberg

Jan/23

Wed

07:30PM-10:00PM

1-150, Check the W1MX webpage on exams for details.

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Fee: $14.00 for Examination fees

On the second-to-last Wednesday of each month, exams are held to earn ham radio licenses. Come this month and get or upgrade your license! Technician, General, and Amateur Extra exams are offered. 

Sponsor(s): Radio Society
Contact: Jordyn Mann, JORDYNM@MIT.EDU

Phil Vita, Real Estate Agent

Jan/08

Tue

12:00PM-01:30PM

56-114

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required

Whether it's your first time or you're in the market again, learn what's involved in buying a house at this free, informative session.

Come meet the experts from MIT Federal Credit Union, Vita Realty Group & Members Mortgage Company to talk about:

- How to find the right property for you (for today and the future) 

- Trends in today's housing market

- Financing options available for first time homebuyer

- And much more

Register here.

Sponsor(s): MIT Federal Credit Union
Contact: Meghan Melvin, NE48, 617 715-4703, MBROWNCU@MIT.EDU

Dr. Hans Moritz Guenther, Research Scientist

Jan/28

Mon

02:30PM-03:00PM

Marlar Lounge 37-252

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none

While our Sun is almost 5 billion years old, stars still form in the the dark clouds of our Milky Way. When we observe those regions we can learn how star and planet formation works, so that we also understand the formation of our own solar system and the Earth better. I will describe how we observe those regions that are hidden to the naked eye using infrared and X-ray telescopes to obtain stunning images of stellar nurseries. Zooming in on just a few of the young stars, I show how a gas cloud collapses to form a hot gas core that is the birth place of another sun and possibly a few planets. This is the stage of star formation where I concentrate my own research and I will describe how professional astronomers gain access to space telescopes, share my experiences of how to use the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) for my observations of young stars and I will show an example of how we process the observations to extract scientific conclusions. Star formation is a very active area of research with many open questions to solve and certainly one of the areas in astronomy that delivers extremely beautiful images of the Milky Way that surrounds us.

No enrollment limit for talk, no advance sign-up required.

 

 

Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU

Greta Suiter

Jan/08

Tue

02:00PM-04:00PM

2-146

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required

Take a digital detox and get organized by learning the analog productivity system that's become a global phenomenon! This session will provide an overview of the Bullet Journal method created by Ryder Carroll and demonstrate how it can be customized to your life.

Bullet journals combine creativity with structure in a flexible format that includes list making, planning, and journaling. The Bullet Journal method emphasises intentionality, mindfulness, and self expression. Come learn about these wellness aspects of bullet journaling and how it can increase your time management skills, self-reflection, and habit-tracking.

Current Bujo enthusiasts are welcome to attend and share their techniques and tips! Examples of notebooks, journals, and scrapbooks from the MIT Institute Archives & Special Collections will also be highlighted to provide a historical context.

Notebooks and pens will be available for participants.

Register here: https://libcal.mit.edu/event/4845312

Sponsor(s): Libraries
Contact: Greta Suiter, gsuiter@mit.edu

Daniel Sheen

	Jan/19	Sat	02:00PM-11:45PM	Green Building Roof
	Jan/20	Sun	12:00AM-11:00PM	Green Building Roof

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, participants welcome at any session

Join the UHF Repeater association and the Radio Society for this rapid-fire contest and help us make as many contacts as possible on VHF amateur radio bands! Make contact with people all over the area. No prior radio experience required.

Note: Please head to the base of the Green Building and email w1mx-officers@mit.edu, and someone will come find you. If you are looking for us and email at this email but don't get a response quickly enough, please call Daniel Sheen at 617-390-6480. Feel free to email the given contact email (jordynm@mit.edu) with any questions you have!

Sponsor(s): Radio Society
Contact: Jordyn Mann, JORDYNM@MIT.EDU

Nicholas Liotta, MIT Marching Band President, Andrew Licini, MIT Marching Band Secretary, Taylor Patskanick, MIT Color Guard Leader

	Jan/07	Mon	09:00PM-10:00PM	W20 PDRS 1&2
	Jan/14	Mon	09:00PM-10:00PM	W20 PDR 3
	Jan/21	Mon	09:00PM-10:00PM	W20-307
	Jan/28	Mon	09:00PM-10:00PM	W20-307

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, participants welcome at any session

Interested in possibly joining the MIT Marching Band? Join us during our IAP rehearsals to discover if the marching band would be a good fit for you. Don't have an instrument? We can provide you with one. Don't know how to play an instrument? We can get you started.

New this year, we are also working on beginning an MIT Color Guard in association with the band. Come check this out as well!

Sponsor(s): MIT Marching Band
Contact: Nicholas Liotta, 401 523-1857, LIOTTANJ@MIT.EDU

Ryan Conway

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: Understanding of sailing terminology. Sailing experience

Many members within the MIT sailing community have started their sailing endeavors on the Charles River and have become active members within the Bluewater Sailing Program. While many sailors are content with the many sailing opportunities that MIT has to offer, there are others who desire to take their sailing careers to another level outside of MIT. The 2 sessions being offered will cover a variety of topics that will focus on the what the MIT Bluewater program has to offer and how to furthering your sailing "career" both within and outside of MIT. Whether you are interested in ocean sailing, offshore racing, crewing (racing or leisure), or chartering in new waters, I will provide you with the information needed to take your sailing to the next level. 

Attendies should have prior sailing experience and an understanding of sailing terminology. Those interested in learning more about getting involed in the sailing community outside of MIT should have prior big boat experience. 

Contact: Ryan Conway, RCONWAY@MIT.EDU

---

Introduction to MIT Bluewater

Jan/08

Tue

06:30PM-08:30PM

66-144

In this session, we will discuss the Bluewater program, our classic boat Mashnee, what types of sails & trips we offer, and how you can get involved as crew. No big boat sailing experience is needed, but an understainding of sailing vocabulary will be helpful.

Ryan Conway

---

Sailing Beyond MIT

Jan/10

Thu

06:30PM-08:30PM

66-144

In this session, we will discuss how exploring sailing options outside of MIT. Whether you would like to own your own boat, charter in exotic places, looking to venture offshore, or to build upon the skills you have learned here at MIT, this session will provide options for taking your sailing to the next level.

Ryan Conway

Priya Pillai

Jan/20

Sun

02:00PM-04:00PM

Kresge Oval

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Ever wanted to play Quidditch, but never had the time?  This IAP, come join the Quidditch team for practice (maybe even snow Quidditch, depending on the weather!)

Sponsor(s): MIT Quidditch
Contact: Priya Pillai, pppillai@mit.edu

Priya Pillai

Jan/17

Thu

07:00PM-10:00PM

32-082

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Hello Witches and Wizards!  Come join us at the Annual Quidditch Team Movie Mash!  We will be featuring all 8 of the Harry Potter films on 8 different screens simultaneously.  Come and watch your favorite scenes, catch up on the movie you missed, or sit back and laugh at all the fun scene mixes.  Fun fact: In the first movie, where Sean Seamus blows up his water is about the same time as when he blows up the bridge in the final movie!

Sponsor(s): MIT Quidditch
Contact: Priya Pillai, pppillai@mit.edu

Priya Pillai

Feb/03

Sun

02:00PM-04:00PM

Lobby 7

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Miss when we used to be able to run EVERYWHERE during games?

Want to see nerds wear a tennis ball on their shorts and run around?

Want to *BE* A nerd wearing a tennis ball on your shorts and run around?

Meet us from 2-4pm for our first Off Pitch Snitching event in Lobby 7

Sponsor(s): MIT Quidditch
Contact: Priya Pillai, pppillai@mit.edu

Nicolas Guenon des Mesnards, Kevin Zhang, Jessica Zhu

Jan/30

Wed

09:30AM-04:45PM

32-141

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: None

Date: Wednesday, January 30th, 2019

Time: 9:30am-4:45pm

Place: 32-141

Description: Machine learning techniques are only as good as the data they are built on; optimization and OR models are needed to address data issues like robustness, interpretability, and unobserved data. The Operations Research Center IAP Seminar this year will discuss how these topics are being addressed both by researchers and practitioners.

Schedule:

9:30am-10:00am

COFFEE AND REFRESHMENTS

10:00am-10:45am

Negin Golrezaei - Assistant Professor, MIT

“Dynamic Incentive-Aware Learning: Robust Pricing in Contextual Auctions”

11:00am-11:45am

Nathan Kallus - Assistant Professor, Cornell University

“Learning to Personalize from Observational Data Under Unobserved Confounding”

12:00pm-1:30pm

LUNCH BREAK (not provided)

1:30pm-3:00pm

PANEL DISCUSSION WITH PRACTITIONERS

Bala Chandran - Co-founder and CEO, Lumo

Virginia Goodwin - Technical Staff, Lincoln Labs

Kermit Threatte - Director, Wayfair

3:00pm-3:45pm

Caroline Uhler - Associate Professor, MIT

“Using Interventional Data for Causal Inference”

4:00pm-4:45pm

Bartolomeo Stellato - Postdoctoral Associate at the Operations Research Center, MIT

“The Voice of Optimization”

 

More details available on the ORC IAP Seminar website: https://orc.mit.edu/events/orc-iap-seminar-2019

Sponsor(s): Operations Research Center
Contact: ORC IAP Coordinators, orc_iapcoordinators@mit.edu

Phoebe Ayers

Jan/15

Tue

03:00PM-06:00PM

14N-132

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required

Join the MIT Libraries during IAP for a Public Domain-themed Wikipedia edit-a-thon! January 1st is Public Domain Day – the day when works published in 1923 go out of copyright in the United States and enter the public domain, making them available for anyone to reuse and remix. This is the first time in twenty years that new published works have entered the public domain! To celebrate, the MIT Libraries are digitizing 100 works from 1923 selected from our collections. Because they are now out of copyright, we can freely use images and text from these works on Wikipedia and other open licensed projects.

Join us to explore these digitized works and learn how to contribute to Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. What did engineering education look like in the 1920s at MIT? We’ll introduce the works and give you an introduction to editing Wikipedia and ideas for topics to work on, or bring our own topics. We will also celebrate Wikipedia's 18th Birthday! Wikipedia was founded on January 15, 2001. We'll have pizza and cake into the evening to celebrate. We will have support from experienced Wikipedia editors and librarians, as well as snacks and pizza. Join us for an afternoon devoted to exploring engineering in the Jazz Age and contributing to the world’s largest reference work.

Register here: https://libcal.mit.edu/event/4841683

Sponsor(s): Libraries
Contact: Phoebe Ayers, psayers@mit.edu

Mark Porter, CFP, CFA, Financial Planner

Jan/07

Mon

12:00PM-01:00PM

32-144

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required

The world is changing faster than ever, with environment and social pressures growing more acute. Climate change, shifting demographics and the technology revolution are reshaping our planet. For investors, this rapidly changing landscape creates opportunities to potentially reduce risk and improve returns all while staying consistent with their values.

So what is Responsible Investing? It's an approach to investing that aims to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decisions, to better manage risk and generate sustainable, long-term returns.

In this seminar, Mark Porter, CFP®, CFA®, will discuss:

-How Responsible Investing has evolve

-Major trends in Responsible Investing

-How to get started with Responsible Investing

-and more!

Register here.

Sponsor(s): MIT Federal Credit Union
Contact: Meghan Melvin, NE48, 617 715-4703, MBROWNCU@MIT.EDU

Hans Moritz Guenther

Jan/29

Tue

01:30PM-02:30PM

Marlar Lounge 37-252

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none

Roman warships in Experiment: Reconstruction and Sailing Tests

Warning: This talk is non-astronomical and contains actual videos and possibly sound. After the climax of its power internal struggle weakened the military position of the Roman Empire. A series of attacks in the 2nd and 3rd century AD forced an adjustment of the military strategy in central Europe. Instead of further expansion, the borders of the empire were increasingly fortified. In Germany this lead to the construction of an impressive naval fleet on the rivers Rhine and Danube. Several of the boats have been excavated. Our team has attempted a reconstruction of two types of vessel, the "navis lusoria" and the "Oberstimm" with a level of detail down to the hand-smithened nails with the correct metallurgy. A series of three working boats have been built in original size. I will show pictures of the reconstruction phase, but concentrate on the on-the-water tests we have performed with different teams to access the speed, maneuverability and sailing performance of these boats. Particularly in sailing the possibilities far exceeded the expectations. This result indicates a much larger operating radius of these vessels than previously estimated and thus a much higher flexibility of the river defense scheme which the empire relied on to keep the barbarians at bay. See, e.g.: this movie

Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU

Jenny Gao, Program Director, Elisabeth Bullock, Program Director

Jan/30

Wed

07:00PM-10:00PM

Building 56 Floor 1

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Like learning or teaching random things? Then this program is for you.  MIT's Educational Studies Program will be hosting a series of fun, short classes, including a Firestorm session, aimed at the MIT community, and modelled after our popular and much larger-in-scale Splash program that is run annually for thousands of high school students .  For those of you who thought Splash 2018 classes sounded cool or who wanted to teach but weren't able to, this is finally your opportunity to experience Splash in one evening of condensed programming!

Sponsor(s): Educational Studies Program
Contact: Jenny Gao and Elisabeth Bullock, splash-for-mit@mit.edu

Dr. Herman Marshall, Principal Research Scientist, Dr. Alan Garner, Postdoctoral Associate

Jan/29

Tue

02:30PM-03:30PM

Marlar Lounge 37-252

Enrollment: no limit for talk; tour limit 20, sign up at 2:25 for lab tour
Sign-up by 01/29
Limited to 20 participants
Prereq: attend 2pm talk to take two tours that follow

The Future of X-ray Polarimetry in Astronomy and Lab Tour

I will present several projects to measure X-ray polarizations of astronomical sources over the next 5-10 yrs. Previous observations were obtained in 1970s for bright Galactic sources, e.g. X-ray binaries and the Crab Nebula, using a Bragg reflection from graphite crystals, limiting measurements to 2.6 and 5.2 keV. Recently, a few detections have been reported using Compton scattering at hard X-rays. A newly approved NASA mission is the Imaging X-ray Polarization Explorer (IXPE). It would operate in the 2-8 keV range and is expected to launch in late 2020. It has an imaging capability, with a resolution of about a half arc-minute, and should detect X-ray polarizations as low as 1-5 % for a dozen or more active galaxies, supernova remnants, neutron stars, and X-ray binaries during a mission lifetime of a few years. I will describe the instrument and a few of the science goals. I will also describe a design for a sounding rocket based polarimeter to work in the 0.2-0.6 keV band. The method uses gratings developed at MIT and multilayer coated mirrors. Potential targets include active galaxies, isolated neutron stars, and nearby black hole binaries in outburst. The configuration is extensible to orbital use, possibly to be combined with other instruments to provide a bandpass from 0.2 to 50 keV.

Talk will be followed by a tour of MIT’s X-ray Polarimetry Lab, where new X-ray instrumentation is currently being developed.

 

Sponsor(s): Kavli Institute for Astrophysics
Contact: Debbie Meinbresse, 37-241, 617 253-1456, MEINBRES@MIT.EDU

Daniel Sheen

	Jan/11	Fri	07:00PM-11:00PM	50-358
	Jan/18	Fri	07:00PM-11:00PM	50-358
	Jan/25	Fri	07:00PM-11:00PM	50-358
	Feb/01	Fri	07:00PM-11:00PM	50-358

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, participants welcome at any session

Each week, the Radio Society meets in the shack for a few hours on Friday night and does something fun and related to ham radio. Join us! Past activities include working on the EME (Earth-Moon-Earth) moon bounce station with the MIT UHF Repeater Association, tuning in to amateur radio bands and hearing stations all over the world, opening up and looking at a radio transmitter, and learning about how our antennas work. This is also a particularly good event to chat with and get to know the members of the Radio Society.

Sponsor(s): Radio Society
Contact: Jordyn Mann, JORDYNM@MIT.EDU

Priya Pillai

Jan/10

Thu

07:00PM-10:00PM

1-134

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Do you know what would happen if you added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?  The difference between a hippogriff and a griffin? Show off your magical knowledge at the Quidditch Teams Trivia Night!  

Sponsor(s): MIT Quidditch
Contact: Priya Pillai, (630) 209-2355, pppillai@mit.edu

Latonya Smith-Winston, Community Relations & Development Officer

Jan/16

Wed

12:00PM-01:00PM

32-144

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required

Are you new to the United States Banking system? Join us for a seminar designed to help you understand the basics of banking in the U.S, where we will discuss:

- The difference between a Bank and a Credit Union
- Basic banking products you should be familiar with
- Common account opening requirements
- What to look for when shopping for a financial institution
- Differences between online and mobile banking

Register here.

 

Sponsor(s): MIT Federal Credit Union
Contact: Meghan Melvin, NE48, (617) 715-4703, mbrowncu@mit.edu

Banti Gheneti, Grace Gardner

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Interested in learning about music genres like Death Grips and Shoegaze?

Come eat snacks and listen to WMBR DJs play music from their favorite genres.

Sponsor(s): WMBR Radio
Contact: Banti Gheneti, 50-030 (Walker Basement), BGHENETI@MIT.EDU

---

Japanese Hip Hop

Jan/22

Tue

08:00PM-09:00PM

50-030

Ian Condry - Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies

Boston Immigration Attorney

Jan/31

Thu

11:00AM-12:30PM

10-250

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Iandoli Desai & Cronin P.C., Boston Law Firm, specializing in immigration, will present a seminar focusing on rules regulating employment opportunities after graduation for international graduates.

 

Sponsor(s): International Students Office
Contact: Dana Riechman, E18-219S, 617 253-3795, RIECHMAN@MIT.EDU