Cirdadian Rhythms: From Cell Cycle to Sleep
Dr. Irina Zhdanova
Mon Jan 25, 01-02:30pm, E25-401
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Different circadian rhythms, critical for the survival of the individual cells and of the multicellular organism as a whole, will be discussed. We will be talking about the development of the circadian system, the physiological mechanisms involved in its regulation, and the consequences of their disruption.
Contact: Dr. Irina Zhdanova, E25-604, x3-6706, irina@crc.mit.edu
Sponsor: Brain and Cognitive Sciences
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Computational Neuroscience for Physicists
John Birmingham (Brandeis University), Mark Goldman (Harvard University)
Mon, Wed, Fri, Jan 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 19, 20, 22, 25, 27, 29, 11am-12:00pm, 2-143
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)
Prereq: Familiarity with E&M and Statistical Mechanics helpful.
In recent years physicists have been increasingly involved in the study of neural systems. In this course we will identify and investigate aspects of neuroscience that are of particular interests to physicists. In the first half of the course we will discuss the biophysical properties of the building blocks of nervous systems: channels and single neurons. In the second half of the course we will study how neural systems may learn, encode, and transmit information.
Contact: Professor Edward Farhi, 6-302A, x3-4871, farhi@MIT.EDU
Sponsor: Physics
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Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Lecture Series
Scott Sewell
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
Contact: Scott Sewell, 54-910, x3-3380, sewell@mit.edu
Sponsor: Earth, Atmos & Planetary Sci
Big Rivers - Chemistry and Field Work
John Edmond
Amazon. Congo. Nile. Yangtze. The names alone conjure up images of exotic, sometimes dangerous, habitats. All you ever wanted to know about these formidable waterways-- but were afraid to ask!
Tue Jan 12, 12-01:30pm, 54-915
Observing the Oceans with ALVIN
John Edmond
Take a dive in the ALVIN! Huge fields of hot springs, much bigger and hotter than any on land, exist on the sea floor. These springs support dense and thriving colonies of organisms found nowhere else on the planet. These beautiful organisms can only be seen from ALVIN, a deep-diving research submarine.
Tue Jan 19, 12-01:30pm, 54-915
Aircraft measurements of global pollution and their use to probe atmospheric structure.
Reginald Newell
A brief account of four missions to the west and south Pacific and to the North Atlantic to measure atmospheric pollution
In addition to providing lots of new information (some quite unexpected) about pollution sources they show the ubiquitous presence of laminae (also unexpected).
Tue Jan 5, 12-01:30pm, 54-915
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Energy and the Environment
Ram Rana
Mon Jan 4, Wed Jan 6, Fri Jan 8, 11am-12:00pm, TBD
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Basic princples of ecological systems will be discussed. The centerpiece of the discussion will be the importance of the two cardinal principles of ecology, namely, material cycles and energy flow within and among ecosystems.
Contact: Ram Rana, 2-013, x3-4524, RRana@holycross.edu
Sponsor: Chemistry
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Exorcising the Homunculus
Whitman Richards
Wed Jan 27, 01-02:00pm, E10-013
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
An alternative to the homunculus is Minsky's "Society of Mind", where a collection of semi-autonomous agents collectively decide how a system will behave. Aggregating the various opinions of the agents, however, is a non-trivial task. Without constraint, such collective systems tend to exhibit chaotic behavior, which is seldom rational. The outcome is dramatically improved, however, when the agents share similar models of the world.
Contact: Whitman Richards, E10-120, x3-5776, wrichards@mit.edu
Sponsor: Brain and Cognitive Sciences
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George R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory Research: A Poster Presentation
Ramachandra Dasari
Fri Jan 22, 12:30-02:30pm, 37-252 Marlar Lounge
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
The Spectroscopy Laboratory pioneers in cutting edge research in Physics, Chemistry, Biomedicine and Engineering. The research activities will be presented in a poster session. Students will have the opportunity to discuss with the faculty, staff, and graduate students.
Web: http://web.mit.edu/spectroscopy/www
Contact: Farideh Partovi, 6-014, x3-9774, farideh@mit.edu
Sponsor: Spectroscopy Lab
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Introduction to Beilstein CrossFire
Erja Kajosalo
Tue Jan 12, 01:30-02:30pm, 14S-0645
No limit but advance sign up required
Single session event
Hands-on introduction to the basics of chemical structure and factual searching in Beilstein CrossFire. (Sign up, contact: kajosalo@mit.edu)
Contact: Erja Kajosalo, 253-9795, kajosalo@mit.edu
Sponsor: Libraries
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Introduction to Online Searching for Chemists
Erja Kajosalo
Thu Jan 28, 09am-04:00pm, 14-0645
No limit but advance sign up required
Single session event
Chemical Abstracts and the MIT Libraries present STN training for MIT faculty and students. Learn to use the basic command language of STN in the Registry and CA files produced by Chemical Abstracts. At the end of this workshop you will be able to use chemical names and molecular preparations of chemical substances of interest. You will also learn to find articles published in the chemistry literature. The workshop will be led by an instructor from Chemical Abstracts. For sign up, contact: Matt Sikorski mattski@mit.edu
Contact: Erja Kajosalo, 253-9795, kajosalo@mit.edu
Sponsor: Libraries
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Physics Lectures for the General MIT Community
Physics Faculty
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
Contact: See individual lecturers
Sponsor: Physics
Quantum Computers: Using Quantum Mechanics to Speed Up Computation
Professor Edward Farhi
Fri Jan 8, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
Planets Galore?
Professor Philip Morrison
Wed Jan 6, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
The Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility: NASA's Next Great Observatory
Professor Claude Canizares
Mon Jan 11, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
Bose-Einstein Condensation in Atomic Hydrogen
Professor Thomas Greytak
Wed Jan 13, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
Inflationary Cosmology
Professor Alan Guth
Fri Jan 15, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
Can Particles Transform into Their Anti-Particles?
Professor Richard Yamamoto
Tue Jan 19, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
The Physics of Quarks at Big Bang Temperatures and Neutron Star Densities
Krishna Rajagopal
Wed Jan 20, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
Some Less Familiar Highlights of Isaac Newton's Achievements
Professor Anthony French
Fri Jan 22, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
Exploration and Adventure in Physics
John King
Mon Jan 25, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
Studying the Structure of the Proton and Neutron with the Bates Accelerator
Professor Richard Milner
Lecture will be followed by a tour of Bates Laboratory. Transportation will be provided.
Wed Jan 27, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
Novel Physics on the Grand Scale: From Galaxy Clusters, to the Heliosphere, to Laboratory Experiments
Professor Bruno Coppi
Lecture will be preceded by a video projection and followed by tour.
Tue Jan 12, 01:30-02:30pm, 6-120
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Physics of the Quarter
Eric B Ford
Sat, Jan 9, 16, 23, 02-04:00pm, TBA
Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Limited to 20 students.
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)
Prereq: 8.01 or Equivalent
We will investigate the dynamics of a rolling quarter: equations of motion for rolling, wobbling, tilting, spiraling, and falling, as well as the stability of these motions. More subtle effects as interest dictates. Bring paper and a pencil.
Contact: Eric B Ford, Random Hall, 253-7348, eford@mit.edu
Sponsor: Eric B Ford, RANDOM HALL, 225-7348, eford@mit.edu
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Plasma Science and Fusion Center IAP Series
Richard Temkin , Paul Rivenberg, Leslie Bromberg, Chiping Chen
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
Prereq: none
This Open House is designed to introduce the MIT community to plasma physics research at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, and areas of related interest. The three days will feature speakers from inside and outside MIT. All talks will be held in NW17-218, 175 Albany Street in Cambridge, unless otherwise indicated. Refreshments will be available before each talk. A pizza smorgasbord will be offered on Wednesday, January 20 at noon for those attending the talks.
Contact: Paul Rivenberg, NW16-284, x3-8101, rivenberg@psfc.mit.edu
Sponsor: Plasma Science and Fusion Center
Turbulence and Transport: the Secrets of Magnetic Confinement
Martin Greenwald
To use fusion as a practical energy source, we must first learn how to maintain matter at temperatures over 100 million degrees. The most promising approach, using magnetic fields as insulation to confine a hot ionized gas (plasma), has turned out to be one of the most challenging problems in classical physics. This talk will introduce the science that underlies magnetic confinement.
Wed Jan 20, 10-11:00am, NW17-218
In the Quest for Fusion: Status and Future Prospects
Rob Goldston Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
While great progress has been made in fusion research during the past year, the withdrawal of US involvement in ITER is moving the US fusion program to become more science oriented. Rob Goldston will discuss how this will affect the near and long term outlook of fusion research.
Wed Jan 20, 11am-12:00pm, NW17-218
Alcator and Versatile Toroidal Facility Tours
TBD
Tour MIT's two tokamaks: Alcator C-Mod, on which research scientists and graduate students perform fusion-related experiments, and the Versatile Toroidal Facility (VTF), which aids in the investigation of ionospheric plasmas.
Wed Jan 20, 01-02:00pm, NW17-218
Selected Applications of Plasma Physics in Industry
Dr. R. Torti, EPION Corp; Stanley Harrison, Harrison Engin'g
Plasma physics is an excellent training ground for many challenges in industrial research. The speaker will describe several near and long term industrial applications of plasma physics, based on the speaker's extensive experience in industry.
Thu Jan 21, 10-11:00am, NW17-218
Monitoring Trace Metals Air Pollution with Plasmas
Dr. Paul Woskov
The Plasma Technology Division of the PSFC has been involved in several award-winning environmental projects, both in remediation and in monitoring, including a particularly interesting device which monitors trace metals with plasmas.
Thu Jan 21, 11am-12:00pm, NW17-218
Plasma Applications Tour
Chiping Chen
Plasmas aren't just for fusion anymore. This tour will explore the spectrum of plasma applications being investigated at the PSFC.
Thu Jan 21, 12-01:00pm, NW17-218
Affordable TeV Accelerators
Dr. Kenneth Kreischer
After the demise of the SSC, the accelerator community has been searching for new, less expensive techniques for producing TeV electron beams that can be used for high energy research. This search has resulted in a variety of novel accelerator systems ranging from traditional microwave structures operating at higher frequencies to laser and plasma based systems. In this talk the requirements of a TeV collider will be discussed, and an overview of these new accelerating techniques will be presented.
Thu Jan 21, 02-03:00pm, NW17-218
Contribution of Energy Supply to Global Warming
Prof. Michael Golay
A discussion of the consequences of conventional energy generating methods.
Fri Jan 22, 10-11:00am, NW17-218
Plasma Heating Experiments in Space
Dr. William J. Burke
This lecture will describe some plasma heating experiments conducted in space for the controlled study of space plasma turbulence.
Fri Jan 22, 11am-12:00pm, NW17-218
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Pointers for Postdocs
Christine Sherratt
Thu Jan 21, 03-04:30pm, 14S-0637
This program is designed to review the information resources available through the MIT Libraries that are of particular interest to postdocs. We will review databases and electronic journals and the arrangements we have with other local libraries. (pre-registration contact: gcsherra@mit.edu)
Contact: Christine Sherratt, 253-5648, gcsherra@mit.edu
Sponsor: Libraries
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Practical NMR Spectroscopy
Jeff Simpson , Jeanne C. Owens
Wed, Fri, Jan 13, 15, 20, 22, 27, 29, 10-11:00am, 18-490
Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Participants requested to attend all sessions (non-series)
Signup by: 31-DEC-98
Covers fundamental concepts, parameters, methods, and advanced techniques such as 2D. This material will allow chemists to make better use of NMR time and to determine structure using advanced methods.
Contact: Jeff Simpson, 18-0080, x3-1812, jsimpson@mit.edu
Sponsor: Chemistry
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Special Topics in X-ray Crystallography
William M. Davis
Mon Jan 25, Wed Jan 27, Fri Jan 29, 11am-12:00pm, 2-025
No limit but advance sign up required
Signup by: 18-JAN-99
Recent changes in software for solution and refinement of single crystal xray diffraction data will be discussed as well as use of crystallographic databases.
Contact: William M Davis, 2-025, x3-1884, wmdavis@mit.edu
Sponsor: Chemistry
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Spotlight on Research in Physics at MIT
Physics Graduate Students and Senior Physics Majors
Thu Jan 21, 02-04:00pm, 4-339
Physics graduate students and senior physics majors will give short presentations of their current research projects. This will be an excellent opportunity, particularly for freshmen, to hear about exciting research being conducted in the Physics Department.
Contact: Professor Edward Farhi, 6-302A, x3-4871, farhi@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
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The Feynman Films
Mark Bessette, Series Coordinator
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)
Prereq: None
The Feynman Films:
A Series of Films by Richard Feynman
Contact: Mark Bessette, Series Coordinator, 4-309, x3-4844, rmbesset@mit.edu
Sponsor: Physics
"The Law of Gravitation"
Mark Bessette, Series Coordinator
Wed Jan 6, 12:30-01:30pm, 6-120
"The Best Mind Since Einstein"
Mark Bessette, Series Coordinator
Fri Jan 8, 12:30-01:30pm, 6-120
"The Relation of Mathematics to Physics"
Mark Bessette, Series Coordinator
Mon Jan 11, 12:30-01:30pm, 6-120
"The Great Conservation Principles"
Mark Bessette, Series Coordinator
Wed Jan 13, 12:30-01:30pm, 6-120
"Symmetry in Physical Law"
Mark Bessette, Series Coordinator
Fri Jan 15, 12:30-01:30pm, 6-120
"The Last Journey of a Genius"
Mark Bessette, Series Coordinator
Tue Jan 19, 12:30-01:30pm, 6-120
"Take the World from Another Point of View"
Mark Bessette, Series Coordinator
Wed Jan 20, 12:30-01:30pm, 6-120
"The Distinction of Past and Future"
Mark Bessette, Series Coordinator
Fri Jan 22, 12:30-01:30pm, 6-120
"Probability and Uncertainty"
Mark Bessette, Series Coordinator
Mon Jan 25, 12:30-01:30pm, 6-120
"Seeking New Laws"
Mark Bessette, Series Coordinator
Wed Jan 27, 12:30-01:30pm, 6-120
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