IAP 2018 Activities by Sponsor - Science, Technology, and Society

Subrata Ghoshroy, Research Affiliate

	Jan/16	Tue	04:30PM-06:00PM	2-105
	Jan/23	Tue	04:30PM-06:00PM	2-105
	Jan/30	Tue	04:30PM-06:00PM	2-105
	Feb/02	Fri	04:30PM-06:00PM	2-105

Enrollment: Pre-registration recommended but not required. Email carlsonc@mit.edu.
Limited to 30 participants
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: Pre-requisites, an interest in science and defense policy

After the end of World War II, U.S. embarked upon a policy to spend large sums of money for defense. The rationale was two-fold. One was to fight the growing threat of communism and the other was to spur the post-war economy. A big part of the defense budget was for R&D in science and technology for weapons in order to have a technology-edge over the USSR. The dual Cold War rationale - prosperity at home and fighting wars abroad - to contain "communist aggression" continues 25 years after the collapse of the USSR. Today, the U.S. defense budget is about $600 billion, which includes more than $80 billion for R&D. An unfathomable $1-trillion  will be spent on nuclear weapons over the next 30 years, shortchanging the research on climate change, e.g. During the second world war, academics participated in the Manhattan project to build the atom bomb, and in the development of the radar, missile guidance systems, etc. Today's subjects are artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and cyber defense, among others. The Pentagon also funds research in social sciences like political science, anthropology, and psychology. President Eisenhower's warning in his 1961 farewell address of the danger of a "military-industrial complex" (MIC) has come true. 

There will be four sessions as follows:

1. Defense spending, Congress, and the MIC
2. The universities and the Pentagon
3. Defense R&D: Are we getting the bang for our buck?
4. Showing of the award-winning documentary Why We Fight? (Optional)

 

Sponsor(s): Science, Technology, and Society
Contact: Subrata Ghoshroy, E51-296, 617 253-3846, GHOSHROY@MIT.EDU

Mico Tatalovic, KSJ fellow

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/12
Limited to 20 participants
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: None

A series of short lectures given by a group of elite science journalists about current issue and challenges facing scientific research in the press. The lecturers are Knight Science Journalism fellows at MIT.

Talks to include:

-What not to do when talking to journalists: common mistakes professionals make when communicating with lay people and the media, Teresa Carr, a senior content editor for Consumer Reports and an award-winning investigative reporter, focusing on consumer and public health

- Turn that page: Constructing narrative in short and long-form writing, by Ehsan Masood, editor of Research Fortnight, a London-based science policy magazine, and the author of several books, including The Great Invention: The Story of GDP and the Making and Unmaking of the Modern World

-Making online science news viral: how to strike a balance between popularity and hype, by Mico Tatalovic, environment and life sciences news editor at New Scientist

-Data journalism and visualizations: the state of the art and craft, by Joshua Hatch, assistant editor for data and interactives at The Chronicle of Higher Education in Washington, where he oversees a team of database reporters and designers

Sponsor(s): Science, Technology, and Society
Contact: Mico Tatalovic, E19-623, 617 452-3513, MICO@MIT.EDU

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How to talk to and write for media

Jan/16

Tue

04:00PM-06:00PM

E19-623 seminar room

Talk 1: What not to do when talking to journalists: common mistakes professionals make when communicating to lay audiences, by Teresa Carr, senior content editor for Consumer Reports and award-winning investigative reporter

Talk 2: Constructing compelling narrative in short and long-form science writing, by Ehsan Masood, editor of Research Fortnight, a London-based science policy magazine, and the author of several books

Teresa Carr - KSJ fellow, Ehsan Masood - KSJ fellow

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Making online science stories effective

Jan/17

Wed

04:00PM-06:00PM

E19-623 seminar room

Talk 1: Making online science news go viral: how to strike a balance between popularity and hype, by Mico Tatalovic, news editor at New Scientist and chairman of the Association of British Science Writers

Talk 2: Data journalism and visualizations: the state of the art, by Joshua Hatch, assistant editor for data and interactives at The Chronicle of Higher Education, and president of the Online News Association

Mico Tatalovic - KSJ fellow, Joshua Hatch - KSJ fellow