The Kavli Science Journalism Workshop

Science has new methods to watch our brains at work, and a torrent of new information is coming out of brain science labs---from tracking the fight between neurons themselves as they are established in networks to watching as brains form moral judgments. Dreams and daydreams can shape decision-making, false beliefs can be established and true ones undone, and our brains are not alone but often work in groups without our full awareness of it.

What journalists had to say about 2008's Frontiers of Brain Science: The Kavli Science Journalism Workshop:

"Excellent. Stimulating. Exhausting. Very worth while."

"Wonderful and enriching opportunity."

"It was a rich experience. I know I'll be writing stories about all of this in the future. Fabulous experience. "

Some researchers are hoping to engineer the brain at work to turn on and off some thinking, while other are programming computers to read human emotions.

For journalists, the streaming developments are hard to follow. To help journalists make sense of all this, the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT is offering a three-day intensive course on the basics of the new brain sciences. The workshop will bring some of the top neuroscientists in the U.S. to explain their work and to become first-rate sources for the attending journalists.

From the basics of how neurons grow and connect, to how neural networks underlie behavior, to the subject of consciousness, we will explore the booming new neural sciences.

Schedule and Faculty

Wednesday, June 15, 2011
9:00–9:15		Welcome and introduction by Philip J. Hilts, Director of the Knight Science Journalism Fellowships at MIT
9:15–10:45		Imaging the Connectome Jeff Lichtman Jeremy R. Knowles Professor Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology Harvard University
11:00–12:30		The Intelligence Initiative at MIT - and the Search for a Unifying Theory of Learning in Brains, Minds and Machines Joshua Tenenbaum Professor Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1:45–3:15		Morality is Mind Perception Kurt Gray Assistant Professor Department of Psychology Mind Perception and Morality Lab University of Maryland
3:30–5:00		The Story of Artificial Intelligence Patrick Winston Ford Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology
6:00		Dinner for Workshop Participants
Thursday, June 16
9:00–10:30		Functional Specialization in the Human Brain Nancy Kanwisher Professor Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences McGovern Institute for Brain Research Massachusetts Institute of Technology
11:00–12:00		Imaging Center tour
1:30–3:00		Constructive Memory and Imagining the Future: A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective Daniel Schacter William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Psychology Harvard University
3:30–4:15		Tour of Dr. Boyden's lab
4:30–6:00		The Brain Plasticity Revolution Michael Merzenich Professor Emeritus University of California, San Francisco CSO, Posit Science Corporation Director, Brain Plasticity Institute
Friday, June 17
9:30–11:00		New Technology for Helping Measure and Communicate Emotion and Autonomic Changes Rosalind Picard Professor of Media Arts and Sciences Director of Affective Computing Research Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Co-Director of Autism and Communication Technology Initiative Co-Founder, Chief Scientist, and Chairman of Affectiva, Inc.
11:15–12:45		Decoding Dreams: The Neuroscience of Sleep and Memory Matthew Wilson Sherman Fairchild Professor of Neuroscience Associate Department Head, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Associate Director, Picower Institute for Learning and Memory Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1:45–3:15		The Evolution of Irrational Behavior: Insights from Monkeys Laurie Santos Associate Professor Comparative Cognition Laboratory Yale University
3:30–5:00		New Technologies for Analyzing and Engineering the Brain: How 21st Century Tools are Opening up New Fronts on Thought, Emotion, and Disease Ed Boyden Benesse Career Development Professor Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Assistant Professor Biological Engineering and Brain and Cognitive Sciences