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Soap Box Archives

2009-2010 Soap Box Season 5

November 17, 2009
Hidde Ploegh

Soap Box: Global Pandemics
From SARS to H1N1, diseases are traveling faster and farther that ever before in our increasingly interconnected world. New disease analysis tools and vaccine and antiviral technologies could tip the balance, or one bad bug might wipe us all out. Which way will it go? Professor Hidde Ploegh talks about the weapons we have now to fight pandemics and new tools in the pipeline, and invites you to discuss challenges for privacy, biodefense, and public health that arise in the aggressive response to a pandemic. Join the conversation and help figure out the appropriate response to a threat to civilization itself.
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2008 - 2009 Soap Box Speakers


Spring 2009 Series: What's the Latest in Solar Energy?

May 19, 2009
Marc Baldo
Luminescent Solar Concentrators Explained

Learn from Marc Baldo (Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) about the latest research being done with luminescent solar concentrators - inexpensive plates of glass or transparent plastic that concentrate sunlight without the need to track the sun across the sky.
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May 12, 2009
Vladimir Bulovic
Nanoscale Engineering for High Performance Solar Cells

Nanotech opens up new possibilities for those working to more effectively exploit or manipulate light. Listen to Vladimir Bulovic (KDD Associate Professor of Communications and Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) as he discusses quantum dots -- nanoparticles of semiconductor material that give off different colors of light depending on size -- and how these hardy, brightly colored nano dots could be used to reinvent the light bulb.
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May 5, 2009
Tonio Buonassisi
Next Generation Solar Cells – Lowering Costs, Improving Performance and Scale

Hear from Tonio Buonassisi (Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering) about the search for the best kinds of materials for making cheaper and more efficient solar cells in the future, either by incorporating materials that are so abundant that they could support a major boom in the industry or by cutting production costs for conventional solar cells.
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IAP 2008 Soap Box

January 14, 2009
Natalie Kuldell
Do-It-Yourself Biology

MIT biology professor, Natalie Kuldell and Reshma Shetty PhD '08 explain the meaning of the term Do-It-Yourself Biology, engage the audience by stimulating their imagination, and lead a discussion about the ethics and standards involved in teaching people how to take science into their own hands.
Watch Archived Webcast


Fall 2008 Series: Grassroots and Global: Technologies & Social Change

November 18, 2008
Ellen Hume

Ellen Hume, Research Director of MIT's Center for Future Civic Media speaks about the future of the news in a digital age.
Watch the archived webcast (Windows Media)

November 5, 2008
Dayna Cunningham

Dayna Cunningham, Executive Director of the Community Innovators lab at MIT's Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning explores how putting different media - cameras, recorders, and other data gathering tools - into the hands of people who traditionally have been excluded from political power, can achieve positive political and social change.
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October 22, 2008
Henry Jenkins
The Role of Civic Media in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election

Henry Jenkins, Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program and the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities encourges people to better understand the concept of "civic media." Will new media platforms that encourage bonding over long distances help move Americans toward more personal and immediate civic engagement?
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October 8, 2008
Ethan Zuckerman
Technologies and Emerging Democracies: Building a Better Gatekeeper

Ethan Zuckerman, Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University Law School was the first in a series about Technologies and Emerging Democracies.
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2007 - 2008 Soap Box Speakers

April 29, 2008
Sherry Turkle and Cynthia Breazeal

Sherry Turkle, a professor of Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT and Media Lab professor Cynthia Breazeal discuss sociable robots and their impact on human-technology relations.
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April 9, 2008
John Hockenberry and Hugh Herr

Award winning journalist, author and editor, now a Distinguished Fellow at the MIT Media Lab, John Hockenberry joins with Associate Professor Hugh Herr, director of the MIT Media Lab Biomechtronics Group to talk about human augmentation.
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April 2, 2008
David Berry

Dr. David Berry, bioengineer and venture capitalist, discusses genetic engineering of microbes for biofuel production, focusing on developing an inexpensive way to harness hydrogen from bacteria.
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March 19, 2008
William Mitchell

Professor of Architecture and Media Arts and Sciences, William Mitchell talks about the City Car project, a new transportation ecosystem - prototypes of which are on display at the MIT Museum.
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November 14, 2007
James Morash

Advancements in Underwater Vehicles: Responding to Current Environmental Issues
Research Engineer James Morash talks about how technology advances aid research in areas such as the health of coral reefs and post storm event water quality.
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November 6, 2007
Jon Gruber

Making Health Policy in Massachusetts: An Insider's Perspective
Economics Professor and member of the Health Insurance Connector Board Jon Gruber discusses Massachusetts' groundbreaking health reform law and gives an inside view into the ongoing process of shaping health care in Massachusetts.

October 24, 2007
Jacqueline Lees

New Lessons in Cancer Research
Biology Professor Jacqueline Lees explains how gene marking will help scientists and doctors better understand tumor growth.
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October 10, 2007
Amy Smith

A Genius for Change, and the Passion To Do It
Senior lecturer Amy Smith co-hosts with students discussing their latest work on new technologies for the developing world. Cosponsored with The Technology and Culture Forum at MIT.
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2006 - 2007 Soap Box Speakers

April 25, 2007
Richard Primack and Abraham Miller-Rushing

Global Warming: Up Close and Local, part 2
Boston University Biology Professor Richard Primack and graduate student Abraham Miller-Rushing return to the MIT Museum during the Cambridge Science Festival to discuss observations contributed by citizens and their contribution to our growing understanding of the local effects of climate change in New England.
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March 21, 2007
Laura Schulz

Laura Schulz, Assistant Professor in MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, discusses how children think and learn about cause and effect, and the role of play.

February 21, 2007
Richard Primack and Abraham Miller-Rushing

Global Warming: Up Close and Local, part 1
Boston University Biology Professor Richard Primack and graduate student Abraham Miller-Rushing launch a citizen science initiative to support work in better understanding the effects of climate change in the Boston area.
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February 7, 2007:
Jefferson Tester

Geothermal - An Undervalued Primary U.S. Energy Source
Tester led a panel that concluded that a substantial portion of the country's energy needs could be met by mining geothermal resources.
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January 17, 2007
Walter Bender

One Laptop per Child: Revolutionizing How the World's Children Engage in Learning
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November 1, 2006

Growing Pains: Transitioning to a Sustainable Energy Economy
Part 3 of the Fall 2006 Soap Box Special on Energy
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October 25, 2006

The Role of New Technologies in a Sustainable Energy Economy
Part 2 of the Fall 2006 Soap Box Special on Energy
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October 18, 2006

The Challenge: Meeting Global Energy Demand Sustainably
Part 1 of the Fall 2006 Soap Box Special on Energy
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September 19, 2006
Nancy Hopkins

Zebrafish and Cancer: What's the Connection?
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2005 - 2006 Soap Box Speakers

May 22, 2006
Mitchel Resnick

Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society
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April 26, 2006
Nancy Kanwisher

The Neurology of Vision
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March 21, 2006
Andrew (Drew) Endy

The Implications of Synthetic Biology
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February 21, 2006
Donald R. Sadoway

Fuel Cells and Portable Power Solutions
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January 10, 2006
Rodney A. Brooks

Robotics in Space Exploration
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November 15, 2005
David Altshuler

Human Genetics: Our Past and Our Future
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