Events: Previous Events

2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 1998-2000 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1989-1993 | 1984-1988

2007

Thursday, March 1, 2007
The Future of Nuclear Energy
6-120, MIT, 7:00pm
With Allison Macfarlane, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom, The Belfer Center, Harvard University; George Mason University; Andrew Kadak, Professor of Practice, Nuclear Engineering, MIT; Victor Reis, Senior Advisor, Office of the Secretary, US Department of Energy; John Durant (moderator), Director, MIT Museum
Co-sponsored with the Technology and Culture Forum

Monday February 26, 2007
Student Pugwash Weekly Discussion: John Durant
Muddy Charles Pub, MIT, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Mr. Durant is the director of the MIT Museum. We'll follow up with a planning meeting starting at 6:30pm.

Thursday, February 22, 2007
Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons
6-120, MIT, 7:00pm
With Joseph Cirincione, Senior Vice President, Center for American Progress
Co-sponsored with the Technology and Culture Forum

Thursday February 15, 2007
See the Bigger Picture: MIT Student Pugwash Spring Mixer
4-153, MIT, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
With Vanessa Hamer, The Open Planning Project
How much do you understand about how scientists and engineers affect society? What is your role in the bigger picture as a practicing scientist or engineer? Come to MIT Student Pugwash's spring kickoff mixer to learn about how we encourage the MIT community to ponder and answer these questions. Our guest Vanessa Hamer will kick off the mixer by talking about The Open Planning Project, one of the many avenues through which scientists and engineers can make a positive impact on society. Dinner will be provided, courtesy of The Open Planning Project. After the mixer, Vanessa will hold a separate recruiting session.

Tuesday February 13, 2007
Impact Career Fair
MIT Stratton Student Center Floor 3, 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Impact was created to meet the needs of MIT and Olin students who are interested in pursuing socially responsible careers. These students want to leverage their education in science, engineering, and the humanities to make a positive impact on society. The Impact Career Expo is designed to show them that it is a feasible goal. The Career Fair component of the Expo will allow students to discover and connect with a number of companies serving the world in socially and environmentally responsible ways. Visit the Impact Career Expo home page

Monday February 12, 2007
CANCELLED: Student Pugwash Weekly Discussion: Subrata Ghoshroy
Muddy Charles Pub, MIT, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
The discussion with Mr. Ghoshroy has been cancelled. Instead, we will have a casual gathering in the Muddy before we present the Graduation Pledge at the MIT Re-Generator. Come out to meet us, learn about our current plans, or just relax.

Monday February 5, 2007
Student Pugwash Weekly Discussion: Peter Cooper and Chris Schaffner
Muddy Charles Pub, MIT, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Peter Cooper and Chris Schaffner will host a discussion on the the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard and some of its institutional issues. Mr. Cooper is the Manager of Sustainability Engineering and Utility Planning at MIT, and Mr. Schaffner leads the sustainable design consulting firm The Green Engineer, LLP. We'll follow up with a planning meeting starting at 6:30pm. On the agenda: the Graduation Pledge, a semester outline of events, and GSC funding.

Monday January 29, 2007
Student Pugwash Weekly Discussion: Stephane de Messieres
Muddy Charles Pub, MIT, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Stephane de Messieres, a graduate student at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, will discuss an idea for a forum that will allow people to explore and compare corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings of various companies. A short Student Pugwash planning meeting will follow at 6:30pm. On the agenda: a graduation pledge at MIT, the Student Pugwash spring mixer (February 15), a Campus Preview Weekend (mid-April) event on "What is an engineer?" and updating of a list of MIT courses concerning social responsibility.

Tuesday January 30, 2007
Environmental Films Festival: Is God Green?
4-370, MIT, 6:00pm
Dinner will be provided. See the Enviromental Film Festival page for further information, a full list of sponsors, and a full schedule.
A new holy war is growing within the conservative evangelical community, with implications for both the global environment and American politics. For years, liberal Christians and others have made protection of the environment a moral commitment. Now, a number of conservative evangelicals are joining the fight, arguing that man's stewardship of the planet is a biblical imperative and calling for action to stop global warming. Followed by a discussion with guest Rev. Amy McCreath. Amy is the coordinator of the Technology and Culture Forum and the Episcopal Minister at MIT.

Thursday February 1, 2007
Environmental Films Festival: Total Denial
4-370, MIT, 6:00pm
Dinner will be provided. See the Enviromental Film Festival page for further information, a full list of sponsors, and a full schedule.
The story of the construction of the UNOCAL/TOTAL oil pipeline in Burma. An unprecedented legal battle will unfold in a US courtroom, shocking the world with its revelations. Fifteen plaintiffs who've never left the Burmese jungle will battle head-to-head with two corporate giants. The outcome of this struggle will profoundly affect the actions of corporations worldwide.

Friday February 2, 2007
Environmental Films Festival: Dying to Breathe; Shipbreakers; An Inconvenient Truth
4-270, MIT, 5:00pm
Dinner will be provided at 6:00pm. See the Enviromental Film Festival page for further information, a full list of sponsors, and a full schedule.
5:00pm - Dying to Breathe: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in South Africa - A documentary about why the lives of ordinary people living in Sasolburg and South Durban have become a daily struggle for health because of excessively high levels of air pollution.

6:30pm - Shipbreakers (42 min) - Welcome to Alang, India, the site of a gargantuan scrap yard where oceangoing ships come to die. Forty thousand Indians live and work here, dismembering and scavenging the hulks of 400 vessels every year.

8:00pm - An Inconvenient Truth - Director Davis Guggenheim eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Mr. Gore's personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change. A longtime advocate for the environment, Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way.

Saturday February 3, 2007
Environmental Films Festival: Maquila; The Charcoal People; The Future of Food
4-270, MIT, 5:00pm
Dinner will be provided at 6:00pm. See the Enviromental Film Festival page for further information, a full list of sponsors, and a full schedule.
5:00pm - Maquila: A Tale of Two Mexicos (55 min) - The film examines the impact of corporate globalization on Mexico, focusing on the maquiladoras, U.S.-owned factories employing cheap Mexican labor.

6:30pm - The Charcoal People (68 min) - This film by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Nigel Noble documents the workaday lives of Brazilian peasants who cut down trees in the Amazon rain forest and burn the wood in earthen kilns to make charcoal, an essential ingredient for the manufacture of pig iron in the U.S.

8:00pm - The Future of Food - Offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade. From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.

Thursday January 25, 2007
Environmental Films Festival: Ecological Design
4-370, MIT, 6:00pm
Dinner will be provided. See the Enviromental Film Festival page for further information, a full list of sponsors, and a full schedule.
This video illuminates the emergence of ecological design in the twentieth century, beginning with the work of Buckminster Fuller, from the 1920s through the 1960s.

Tuesday January 23, 2007
Environmental Films Festival: The Climate of Change; Being Caribou
4-370, MIT, 6:00pm
Dinner will be provided. See the Enviromental Film Festival page for further information, a full list of sponsors, and a full schedule.
6:30pm - The Climate of Change (14 min) - Mayors from around the country gather to experience the impacts of global warming firsthand in Alaska. Strikingly beautiful imagery of a quickly changing climate.

7:00pm - Being Caribou (72 min) - Environmentalist Leanne Allison and wildlife biologist Karsten Heuer follow a herd of 120,000 caribou on foot, across 1,500 kilometres of rugged Arctic tundra. The husband-and-wife team wants to raise awareness of threats to the caribou's survival.

Monday January 22, 2007
Student Pugwash Weekly Discussion: Larry McCray
Muddy Charles Pub, MIT, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Dr. Larry McCray will discuss some dilemmas presented by emerging technologies and ask what organizations might be necessary to deal with them. At 6:30, we'll talk about the current state of MIT Student Pugwash and plans for this semester.

Thursday January 18, 2007
Environmental Films Festival: The Digital Dump, Exporting Harm
32-124, MIT, 6:00pm
Dinner will be provided. See the Environmental Film Festival page for further information, a full list of sponsors, and a full schedule.
The Digital Dump: Exporting Re-Use and Abuse to Africa (25 min) - The photo-documentary report exposes the ugly underbelly of what is thought to be an escalating global trade in toxic, obsolete, discarded computers and other e-scrap collected in North America and Europe and sent to developing countries by waste brokers and so-called recyclers. Produced by the Basel Action Network.

Exporting Harm: The High-tech Trashing of Asia (25 min) - A documentary on the dumping of toxic computer wastes to China that continues to open peoples' eyes to the true horror of the high-tech revolution. Produced by the Basel Action Network.

Tuesday January 16, 2007
Environmental Films Festival: Troubled Waters, A Drop of Life, Water Warriors
32-124, MIT, 6:00pm
Dinner will be provided. See the Environmental Film Festival page for further information, a full list of sponsors, and a full schedule.
Troubled Waters - A reminder that safe water's "primary source" is not a 12-ounce plastic bottle. It's the world's rivers, streams and lakes that are being strained by the world's burgeoning population and consumption.

A Drop of Life - About two women, one Indian woman and one American, and the convergence of their shared struggle to save the world's drinking water.

Water Warriors (Preview only) - While corporations urge local governments to privatize municipal water systems, communities around the world organize to ensure affordable access to this life sustaining resource.

2006

Wednesday December 13, 2006
Science Policy in the New U.S. Congress
35-225, MIT, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
With William Bonvillian, MIT Washington Office; Claude Canizares, Vice President for Research at MIT; Ernest Moniz, MIT Center for Theoretical Physics; Kenneth Oye (moderating), MIT Center for International Studies
What were the science policies of the previous Republican Congress, and what can we expect from the new Democratic one? What changes do the Democrats want to make, and what changes might we actually see?

Wednesday December 13, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Lunch Discussion
With Chris Csikszentmihályi, Director of the Computing Culture Group, MIT Media Laboratory

Wednesday December 6, 2006
The Life Sciences, Biosecurity, and Dual-Use Research
E40-496, MIT, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
With Brian Rappert, University of Exeter
Required
Since 11 September 2001 and the anthrax attacks that followed in the US, public and policy concerns about the security threats posed by biological weapons have increased significantly. With this has come an expansion of activities where the wisdom of applying national security controls is being considered. As part of this, questions are being asked today regarding what novel threats might stem from life science research, how scientists can contribute to national defense, and whether some lines of investigation are too contentious to pursue. There are two aims to this seminar: one, to inform participants about current 'biosecurity' debates and second, to generate interactive discussion about the merits of proposed policy responses. This is not just a lecture but very much designed to get active audience participation and encourage active debate. Sponsored by MIT Student Pugwash and the Graduate Students Office.

Thursday November 30, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Meeting
Room TBA, MIT, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
We will talk about: IAP environmental film festival, meeting with Boston Professional Pugwash, branding MIT Student Pugwash, and events and a budget for next semester.

Monday November 20, 2006
Monday Night@VAP: Pugwash
Joan Jonas Performance Hall, N51-337 (enter through N52), MIT, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
With Chris Sequeira, MIT Student Pugwash; Victoria Powers, Boston Professional Pugwash
The broad mission of Pugwash is to promote social responsibility in science and technology by creating a space for diverse communities to join together and explore how science and technology affect humanity. Chris and Victoria will talk about how two Pugwash groups in the Boston area provide this space of various parts of the Boston community.

Monday November 20, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Meeting
4-253, MIT, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
We will talk about: the Energy Generator, an event on science policy in the new U.S. congress, a meeting with a member of Boston Professional Pugwash, the dual use biology workshop, and the current status of the nuclear futures event series.

Tuesday November 14, 2006
MIT Generator: Students Walking the Talk on Energy and the Environment
32-141, 6:45pm – 9:00pm
MIT spends $1 million PER WEEK on non-renewable energy. We emit 270,000 metric tons of carbon per year. Are you passionate about energy, the environment, and issues of sustainability? Would you like to see MIT walk the talk on these issues? Want to help? BE THE SPARK! Come get involved in reducing the energy consumption and environmental impact of MIT's facilities, operations, and campus life. The idea is to be a Generator of student energy and action - this event is not about slick production and formality, but about rolling up our sleeves and getting to work. The Generator will include:

* Information about how YOU can get involved in greening our campus.
* Opportunity to join (or initiate!) action teams focused on targeted improvement areas (e.g. green building, fume hoods, lighting usage, transportation, recycling, campus energy and carbon goals, etc.)
* Development of plans, milestones, and follow-up strategy for each of the action teams to ensure real impact.

We are excited about the potential for change, and opportunities for collaboration between students, staff, and faculty. This is our chance to really "Walk the Talk." We hope to see you there! Dessert will be served.

Thursday November 16, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Lunch Discussion
With David Mindell, Director of the Program in Science, Technology, and Society
Please to reserve a spot.

Monday November 6, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Lunch Discussion
With Amy McCreath, Episcopal Minister at MIT, Director of the Technology and Culture Forum

Wednesday November 1, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Lunch Discussion
With David Wright, Union of Concerned Scientists
Please to reserve a spot.

Thursday October 26, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Meeting
4-251, MIT, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
We will talk about: success of the mixer, involvement in the energy generator, helping with Design for Change's Impact career fair, and the next events we may wish to have under Student Pugwash.

Thursday October 19, 2006
Sustainability and Development Mixer
5-234, 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Do you care about energy and the environment? Are you interested in sustainable transportation? What about health and infrastructure issues in the developing world? Come to the sustainability and development mixer to meet and socialize with like-minded individuals on these issues and more. Food will be provided. Sponsored by Design for Change, the MIT Energy Club, Students for Global Sustainability, and MIT Student Pugwash.

Tuesday October 17, 2006
Restoring Scientific Integrity in Politics
35-225, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
With Michael Stebbins, Scientists and Engineers for America
Dr. Michael Stebbins sits on the board of directors for the recently-formed nonprofit Scientists and Engineers for America. He will be at MIT to talk about the restoration of scientific integrity in the USA's political process. He will give a 40-minute talk followed by a question and answer session. We hope to see all of you there!

Wednesday October 11, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Planning Meeting
4-251 , MIT, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
On the agenda: event brainstorming and planning (sustainability/development mixer, socially responsible business, labor implications of energy, etc.), project ideas (where does MIT get its money? etc.), involvement in graduation pledge , a question of activism (Laurie David)

Wednesday October 4, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Intro Meeting, Dinner, and Movie
2-139, MIT, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
The MIT Chapter of Student Pugwash will have its introductory meeting on Wednesday. We will give a brief introduction to Student Pugwash and the MIT chapter and describe some event ideas for this semester. After that, we'll show a movie (to-be-announced) as a discussion starter. Pizza will be provided. See the presentation [Powerpoint, 1 MB].

Wednesday October 4, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Lunch Discussion Series: Air Quality and Mobility in Mexico City
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
With Joseph Sussman, MIT Engineering Systems Division

Friday September 29, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash at the International Development Fair
Lobby 13, MIT, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
MIT's Annual International Development Fair (IDF) is an event designed to showcase the many groups, projects and activities at MIT that provide students with an opportunity to work on issues related to international development. The Fair brings students and organizations together, to promote awareness and encourage the exchange of ideas.

Tuesday September 12, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Lunch Discussion Series
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
With Drew Endy, MIT Biological Engineering Division

Friday September 1, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash at the ASA Activities Midway
Johnson Athletics Center, MIT, 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Monday August 7, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Lunch Discussion Series
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
With Subrata Ghoshroy, Program in Science, Technology, and Society

Tuesday May 9, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Lunch Discussion Series
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
With George Kenney, Associate Director of the Materials Processing Center and Microphotonics Center

Tuesday April 25, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Lunch Discussion Series
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
With Daniel Hastings, Dean of Undergraduate Education, Former Director of the Engineering Systems Division

Wednesday April 19, 2006
“Is it possible to have a science or technology job that agrees with your values?”
R&D Common, MIT Stata Center 4th Floor, 6:30 pm
With Chris Csikszentmihályi, Professor, MIT Media Lab, Director of the Computing Culture Research Group
How can we imagine education, research, and engineering as systems that could promote positive change? How can young scientists preserve their integrity and still keep a job? Please join us for this lecture featuring amazing digital presentations from the MIT Media Lab! Refreshments will be served. Presented by Boston Professional Pugwash and Student Pugwash.

Tuesday March 7, 2006
MIT Student Pugwash Lunch Discussion Series
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
With Taft Broome, Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Professor of the Engineering Systems Division

Tuesday January 10, 2006
Student Pugwash Lunch Discussion
12:00 pm
With David Jones, Program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) and Center for the Study of Diversity (CSD)

2005

Tuesday December 6, 2005
Student Pugwash Lunch Discussion
12:00 pm
With Harvey Lodish, Whitehead Institute

Tuesday November 15, 2005
Sustainability Mixer
MIT Room 4-153, 6:00 pm
Sponsored by Students for Global Sustainability, MIT Student Pugwash, and Design that Matters

Tuesday October 25, 2005
Student Pugwash Meeting
MIT Room 4-253, 6:00 pm

Tuesday October 11, 2005
Student Pugwash Meeting
MIT Room 4-144, 6:00 pm

Tuesday September 27, 2005
Student Pugwash General Body Meeting
MIT Room 4-253, 6:00 pm

Thursday September 22, 2005
The Republican War on Science
MIT Room 54-100, 6:00 pm
With Chris C. Mooney, Washington correspondent for Seed Magazine and senior correspondent and columnist for the American Prospect
Chris C. Mooney will speak about how Republicans in the United States are distorting science for political purposes.

Thursday May 16, 2005
Student Pugwash Meeting
MIT Room 4-146, 4:00 pm

Tuesday May 10, 2005
BlueEnergy: Windpower In The Developing World
MIT Room 4-237, 6:00 pm
With Mathias Craig, cofounder of BlueEnergy
The quality of life found in the United States, Europe, and other developed countries was made possible largely through the Industrial Revolution and the subsequent harnessing of electricity, but much of the world still has no access to electrical power and all of its benefits. Mathias Craig, an MIT graduate of Civil and Environmental Engineering (S.M. 2003), grew a nonprofit company named BlueEnergy out of a business plan competition to address this issue in Mexico and Central America. BlueEnergy is now working with local communities in Bluefields, Nicaragua, to build small wind turbines for electrical power. Mathias will speak on his involvement with BlueEnergy along with his technology director Darin Bird and project director Guillaume Craig. Sponsored by: MIT Student Pugwash, Students for Global Sustainability, Design that Matters, MIT Energy Club, AID-MIT, Technology and Policy Student Society, Public Service Center, Edgerton Center, the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Large Event Fund.

Tuesday May 3, 2005
Student Pugwash Elections
MIT Room 4-144, 5:00 pm

Wednesday April 27, 2005
MIT Responses to the BU Biolab
MIT Room 4-270, 5:00 pm
With Jonathan King, professor of biology at MIT, and Sanford Weiner, research fellow at the Center for International Studies at MIT
In September 2003, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded a $1.6 billion federal biodefense laboratory to Boston University Medical Center. As part of this grant, BU has proposed building a biosafety level 4 lab in the heart of South Boston. Criticism by the community has been intense, but not everyone feels this opposition is justified. What risk does the biolab pose locally and what will be the effect of this large investment in biodefense research?

Tuesday April 19, 2005
Biodefense Research and Public Health
MIT Room 4-237, 5:00 pm
With Rocco Casagrande, Former UN Biological Weapons Inspector in Iraq, Director of Homeland Security Program at Abt Associates, Cambridge, MA, and David Ozonoff, MD, MPH, Professor of Environmental Health at BU School of Public Health
Biodefense-related research funding has increased and the public health system has undergone restructuring in response to the threat of bioterrorism. What is biodefense research, and what are its implications? How can research and resources be directed most usefully towards protecting and improving public health?

Tuesday April 5, 2005
Student Pugwash Meeting
MIT Room 4-144, 5:00 pm

Tuesday March 8, 2005
Student Pugwash Meeting
MIT Room 4-251, 5:00 pm

Tuesday February 22, 2005
Student Pugwash Meeting
MIT Room 4-251, 5:00 pm

Tuesday February 8, 2005
Student Pugwash Meeting
MIT Room 4-144, 5:00 pm

2004

Sunday November 21, 2004
Hungry for Justice: Food Sovereignty in the Biotech Era
MIT Room 35-225, 3:00 pm
With Devinder Sharma, founder of the Chakriya Vikas Foundation in India
How do agribusiness technologies, government food policy and free trade organizations generate inequalities in global food production and distribution? What alternatives can we imagine that would empower rather than exploit small-scale farmers and landless agricultural workers? Devinder Sharma will trace for us the corporatization of agriculture and discuss ways in which food sovereignty might be realized. Sponsored by: Association for India's Development (AID Boston), Massachusetts Global Action, MIT Department of Urban Studies, MIT Student Pugwash, MIT Western Hemisphere Project, and South Asia Research Institute for Policy and Development

Wednesday November 10, 2004
Toni "El Suizo" Ruttimann: Humanitarian Bridgebuilder
MIT Room 54-100, 7:00 pm
After an earthquake struck Ecuador in 1987, a young man named Toni Ruttimann left Switzerland immediately after graduating from high school, determined to help in any way he could. Upon reaching the country, he witnessed the suffering of people who could not cross Ecuador's rivers to get crops to market or medicines for the sick. With no technical background, he invented a method of building suspension bridges by hand through community involvement, with little money, using steel cables and pipeline donated by oil companies. 17 years later, 234 bridges have been built across Latin America, Cambodia, and Vietnam, helping over 600,000 people. Sponsored by: MIT Large Event Fund, Design that Matters club, D-LAB, MIT Student Pugwash, Students for Global Sustainability, Share a Vital Earth, and the Special Interest Group in Urban Settlement.

Tuesday November 10, 2004
Student Pugwash Meeting
MIT Room 4-253, 5:00 pm

Prior to November 2, 2004
Student Pugwash USA Election Guide 2004
A voter's guide to science and technology in the 2004 U.S. Presidential Elections.

Wednesday October 27, 2004
Bush's and Kerry's Policies on National Security
MIT Room 1-150, 4:00 pm
With Allison Macfarlane and Owen Cote (both of MIT's Security Studies Program)

Tuesday October 26, 2004
Bush's and Kerry's Policies on Embryonic Stem Cell Research
MIT Room 1-135, 5:00 pm
With Harvey Lodish (Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research) and Rev.
Tadeusz Pacholczyk (Director of Education, The National Catholic
Bioethics Center)

Wednesday October 13, 2004
Student Pugwash Meeting
MIT Room 4-253, 5:00 pm

Tuesday, September 21
Presidential Candidates' Views on Nuclear Waste
with Allison Macfarlane, CIS and SSP
[Student Pugwash USA Election Guide 2004: Nuclear Waste]
Room 26-328, 12:30 - 1:30pm

Thursday September 16, 2004
Student Pugwash Meeting
MIT Room 4-145, 5:00 pm

The Future of Environmentalism, 5/10/2004

Monday May 10, 2004
The Future of Environmentalism
MIT Room 54-100, 7:00pm
Join a discussion among students covering the spectrum of perspectives on the future of environmentalism.

Thursday, April 15, 2004
The Social Dimension of Science and Technology
5:00-6:00pm Room 1-190
Is global warming real? What use are nuclear weapons? Why is file-sharing a problem? How should we explore space? Join an open discussion on the roles science and technology play in shaping society for better and for worse. Learn how students can engage in policy debate as part of Student Pugwash, an international organization that grew from the Einstein-Russell Manifesto of 1955.

Investigating the Bush Administration's
Misuse of Science, 3/11/2004

Thursday, March 11, 2004
Investigating the Bush Administration's Misuse of Science
7:00pm MIT Room 10-250
Kevin Knobloch, President, Union of Concerned Scientists
[website]
Sponsored by: MIT Western Hemisphere Project, The Technology and Culture Forum at MIT, Program on Human Rights & Justice, MIT Student Pugwash

Monday, March 8; Thursday, March 11, 2004
U.S. Space Vision Student Town Meetings
What is the MIT student's perspective on the U.S. space exploration policy? What would you tell the President's Commission on U.S. Space Exploration Policy?
Sponsored by Mars Gravity, MA Space Grant, SEDS, and Student Pugwash

Thursday February 26 2004
Student Pugwash Meeting
5:00pm MIT Room 4-144
Learn about the group. Help plan events. Get involved.

Wednesday March 10, 2004
Student Pugwash Open Meeting
5:00pm MIT Room 4-146
Find out about our upcoming elections. Learn about the group. Get involved with the current projects: military research, space policy, file sharing.

Depleted Uranium Weapons, 3/6/2004

Saturday, March 6, 2004
Depleted Uranium Weapons: Toxic Contaminant or Necessary Technology?
1:00-5:00 PM Room 34-101
[website]

February 19 2004
Nuclear Proliferation: Khan, Iran, and the NPT
5:00pm MIT Room 4-145
With Owen Cote, Associate Director of the MIT Security Studies Program
Join a discussion of the current events relating to nuclear proliferation threats and solutions, and find out how the recent news fits together.

2003

December 2, 4, 11, 2003
Sustainable Cities
Sustainable Development Seminar Series
sponsored by Students for Global Sustainability, Engineers Without Frontiers, Design that Matters, MIT Student Pugwash and Large Event Funding

Thursday December 11, 2003
Building A Sustainable Future: The Role of Architecture and Construction
Professor John Ochsendorf, MIT Department of Architecture
5:30PM in 4-237
The construction and operation of buildings consumes enormous quantities of natural resources worldwide. Buildings consume more energy and materials than almost all other sectors of American industry. This public lecture provides an overview of the environmental impact of buildings and the specific barriers to a more sustainable construction industry. The lecture also highlights the important role for architects and engineers in improving the design and construction of the built environment worldwide.

Thursday December 4, 2003
Greening Community Development: A View from the Field
William Shutkin, President of New Ecology, Inc.
5PM in 4-237
It's easy to talk about sustainable development, but harder to practice it. Walking the walk of sustainable development involves first and foremost building new capacities within existing institutions. Where do these opportunities lie in the field of planning and development? What are some of the leverage points?

Tuesday December 2, 2003
Sustainable Initiatives in Cambridge
Henrietta Davis, Vice Mayor of Cambridge
5:30PM in 4-237
Henrietta will focus on the implementation of the Cambridge Climate Protection Plan - a citywide plan that commits the City of Cambridge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 20 percent below 1990 levels. How can Cambridge make a difference? Ms. Davis will explore the role of the city in implementing the plan via cooperation with local businesses, institutions and residents.

9 December, Tuesday, 2003
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Student Pugwash Movie Series
8pm MIT Room 4-237

25 November, Tuesday, 2003
The Burmese Harp (1956)
Student Pugwash Movie Series
8pm MIT Room 4-237

4 November, Tuesday, 2003
Student Pugwash Meeting and Discussion

28 October, Tuesday, 2003
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Student Pugwash Movie Series
8pm MIT Room 4-237

Student Pugwash USA National
Conference, 10/2003

23-26 October, 2003
Student Pugwash USA National Conference
Washington DC
How will human genome research affect minority communities? Should biological research be restricted to protect national security? Is the media effectively communicating the security threats facing the US?
Article: The Heights

October 22, 27, 29, 2003
Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable Development Seminar Series
[website]

14 October, Tuesday, 2003
Gattaca (1997)
8pm MIT Room 4-237
Student Pugwash Movie Series

Tueday, October 7, 2003
Politics of Science
7pm MIT Room 4-144

Friday, October 3, 2003
MIT International Development Forum
1:30 - 3:30 : Development Midway
4:00 - 5:00 : Expert Panel
Lobbies 10 and 13, and room 10-250
Forum website

23 September, Tuesday, 2003
Fail Safe (1964)
8pm, MIT Room 4-231
Student Pugwash Movie Series
The serious side of Dr. Strangelove. An insightful and well-acted period piece on cold war anxiety and tension. Discussion following.

16 September, Tuesday, 2003
Open Meeting
Room 8-302, 7:00pm
We will meet to discuss some Pugwash-related issue in an informal setting. Stay tuned for more information.

9 September, Tuesday, 2003
The Future of Nuclear Power
5pm, MIT Room 4-370
A panel discussion exploring the potential and risks of nuclear power as a cleaner and perhaps more sustainable energy source than carbon-based fuels. The speakers include Professor Ernest Moniz and Professor Andrew Kadak. In July, an interdisciplinary study entitled The Future of Nuclear Power, co-chaired by Moniz, was released. In this report hurdles are identified in the road to development of nuclear power - safe operation, non-proliferation, waste disposal, cost - and potential benfits - reduced CO2 emissions. A valuable summary of this report is also available, as is Dr. Kadak's powerpoint presentation in which he puts forwards critisms of the above report.

Tuesday, September 2, 2003
Movie Series: Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (1964)
8:00pm in Room 4-237

Thursday, April 17, 2003
"Costs of Conflict: The Many Facets of War"
7:00pm in the Wong Auditorium, MIT
A panel discussion exploring the diverse themes of war - sustainability of American foreign policy, legal aspects of environmnetal damage, and post-war reconstruction. Panelists include: Hugh Gusterson, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Science, Technology and Society at MIT; David Wirth, Professor at the Boston College Law School; Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Director of the Program on Human Rights and Justice and Ford International Assistant Professor of Law and Development at MIT.

Thursday, April 3, 2003
"Rollover: The Hidden History of the SUV"
7:00pm in Room 1-150
The FRONTLINE documentary examines "whether America's most popular vehicle may also be one of its most dangerous, and investigates why automakers and government regulators failed to do more to protect and inform American consumers".

Friday & Saturday, February 21/22, 2003
Science and Conflict
Student Pugwash NE Regional Conference
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
A forum for students, professionals, and academics in the Northeast to engage in dialogue about the impact of science and technology on society.
Conference website

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2002

Wednesday, November 20, 2002
"Bowling for Columbine"
A free trip to the movies followed by discussion of science and ethics. Bowling for Columbine is a truely great documentary. With any luck, it will be screen at MIT.

Tuesday, November 7, 2002
"How Terrorists can Defeat a Multi-Million Dollar Airport Profiling System".
MIT graduate students Samidh Chakrabarti and Aaron Strauss will discuss their work on the ineffectiveness of computer profiling in airports, recently featured in the media on the front page of the Tech (http://www-tech.mit.edu/V122/N48/48secure.48n.html), National Public Radio News, and WBUR.

Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Social Responsibility and the UN Summit on Sustainability
Jeffrey Rosenblum of Tellus Institute discussed the politics behind the UN Summit, and we showcased what Student Pugwash at MT is all about.

April 30, 2002
"Harvest of Fear"
PBS documentary screening about genetic engineering in agriculture, followed by discussion. Documentary details.

February 22 & 23, 2002
Technology in the New Glogal Context: Rethinking Social Responsibility
2002 Student Pugwash Northeast Regional Conference
A forum for students, professionals, and academics in the Northeast to engage in dialogue about the effects of scientific and technological research on humanity. Through a mix of panels, roundtable discussions and social events the conference is designed to cover a range of perspectives challenging participants to formulate their own opinion on a matter, not be indoctrinated by a particular stance. Go to conference page.
Tech article

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2001

April 22, 2001
NOAM CHOMSKY Joined ROBERTO PEREZ, PRESIDENT of the U'WA in a Forum on FREE TRADE, PLAN COLOMBIA, OIL and INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE
Co-Sponsored by MIT Social Justice Colaborative, Sangam Environmental Initiatives, AID-Boston, Boston Earth Action Network, MIT Student Pugwash, and Tonantzin, Boston area Leonard Peltier Support Group and the Council for Native American Solidarity. Funds provided by Kelly-Douglas Fund.

April 24, 2001
A Conversation about Metaphors, Culture, and Information Technology
Professor Roscoe Giles, Boston University Center for Computational Science

March 20, 2001
"Chicken Run"
Movie screening followed by discussion on the ethical implications of the US poultry industry.

January 24, 2001
BILL MCKIBBEN, environmental writer
"How Much is Enough? The Environmental Movement as a Pivot Point in Human History"
Bill McKibben is among the most widely-recognized and influential environmental writers today. He is author of 6 environmental books, including The End of Nature; Hope, Human and Wild; and Maybe One: A Case for Smaller Families. His articles on climate change and the environmental movement have been featured in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, Harpers, and The New York Times. He has been named a Guggenheim Fellow and received the 2000 Lannan Award for nonfiction writing.

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1997

May 9, 1997
A Panel on Nuclear South Asia.
Room 2-105, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Sponsored in conjunction with the Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia, speakers from India and Pakistan addressed the real world situations in these countries.

May 5, 1997
Organizational Planning Dinner Meeting
6:00 p.m., Private Dining Room #3, MIT Student Center.
We decided the fate of MIT Pugwash next year. Find out about this great and important student group! We talked about leadership positions, future events and ideas, administrative issues i.e. money and room reservations, etc.

April 20 & 28, 1997
Film Documentary Showing: "The Coming Plague"
This documentary was shown on cable station TBS, Sunday nights, April 20, 1997 and April 28, 1997 at 9 p.m. But we watched it together on big screen the following mondays.
Parts i and ii: the disease cowboys and the price of passion April 21st 7:00 p.m. in Room 3-133.
Parts iii and iv: revenge of the microbes and a world out of balance, April 28th 7:00 p.m. in Room 3-133.
"The Coming Plague" is a film about ebola, drug-resistant bugs, AIDS, American hospitals, politics, E. coli, lassa fever, doctors, overpopulation, third world epidemics, the history and the future.

January 1997
MIT IAP ACTIVITY
The Price of Progress: A Documentary Series on the consequences of technology and the economic-industrial complex on our lives.

January 13th
"LIVING UNDER THE CLOUD: CHERNOBYL TODAY"
3:30 - 5:00 p.m. in Room 1-390.
Special-ordered from Bullfrog Film Company, included gruesome footage of young Russian soldiers in the Chernobyl clean-up, receiving deadly doses of radiation in a matter of seconds. Discussion followed.

January 15th
"POISON IN THE ROCKIES"
3:30 - 5:00 p.m. in Room 1-390.
History of mining operations in the US, particularly in Rocky Mt. areas. Included interviews with mining company officials and nature preservation agencies, many different perspectives.

January 17th
"THE PRICE OF PROGRESS"
3:30 - 5:00 p.m. in Room 1-390.
Described the limited success of World Bank projects in various East Asian countries.

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1996

October 31, 1996
Film showing, "DR. STRANGELOVE", or "HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB"
Room 1-390 at 7:00 p.m.
Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove" became a cult film after its release in 1963. "...A classic black comedy about a group of war-eager military men who plan a nuclear apocalypse is both funny and frightening - and seems as relevant today as ever. Through a series of military and political accidents, two pyschotic generals trigger an irrevocable scheme to attack Russia's strategic targets with nuclear bombs. The brains behind the scheme belong to Dr. Strangelove (Peter Sellers), a wheelchair- bound nuclear scientist who has bizarre ideas about man's future."
excerpt taken from web page: http://www.rocketvideo.com/catalog/strangelove.html

October 29, 1996
Nobel Science/Nobel Lust: Revealing Tribal Secrets
Novelist Darl Djerassi
Room 10-250
Tech article

October 21, 1996
MIT Pugwash Discussion
Private Dining Room #3 (3rd floor Student Center) at 5:30 p.m.
Topic: Chapters 8 and 9 from Carl Djerassi's book "Cantor's Dilemma"
These chapters raise questions about the integrity of science and the scientist through a story of the lives of graduate students and their mentors.
This meeting is an appetizer event for Carl Djerassi's talk the following week. Djerassi, father of the Pill, has written fiction meant to candidly address the ethical conflicts in the social-scientific community. Chapter copies were provided by MIT Pugwash.

April 8, 1996
Student Lecture: MIT Architectural and Engineering Design in the Hindu Kush of Pakistan
The MIT School of Architecture seeks architectural and engineering design solutions for remote villages of the Hindu Kush, Northern Areas, Pakistan. Seismic and climactic issues, paucity of building materials, poverty, Islamic culture and recent introduction of mercantile economy make for real world design constraints and opportunities for mutual gain. Speaker: Duncan Kincaid.
This meeting is Pugwash's very own contribution to the Stand up! Speak out! Multiculturalism Awareness Week, a collaborative effort between MIT's activist, semi-activist, and cultural organizations. Kincaid is a graduate student in the School of Architecture and a Pugwash member, among many other things.

April 2, 1996
Film showing, "2001: A Space Odyssey"
Room 3-133 at 6:00 p.m.

February 12, 1996
First General Meeting of Spring Term!
Agenda: - first 20 minutes to brainstorm and exchange ideas for this term. Then stay for a short discussion on America's statistics. Bring your own numbers and ideas. Cookies and juice will be provided.

January 1996
MIT IAP ACTIVITY #406
Don't Believe the Hype! A Documentary Series on America's Wars and the Media
Do you believe what you read, hear, or watch on television? Four sessions are film documentaries that focus on how the media has portrayed American conflicts of the last forty years. Come share your thoughts after the each film.

January 10th
"PANAMA DECEPTION"
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. in Room 1-390.
90 mins, made in 1992, winner of 1993 Academy Award for best documentary. Raises questions about government's manipulation of the media and public opinion and mainstream media's complicity. Called a "must see."

January 12th
"IN COLD BLOOD" and a 30 minute excerpt from "Manufacturing Consent" Part I
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. in Room 1-39
A recent film concerning US involvement in East Timor. Special guests from the East Timor Action Network, a local activist group. Many thanks to Jim Murphy, Mark Salzer, and David Gartner for their help in this activity!

January 15th
"BEHIND THE FLAG" and "THE GULF CRISIS TV PROJECT" Part 2, Operation Dissidence
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. in Room 1-390.
25 min. Made in 1991, features Noam Chomsky and media critics looking at how the U.S. media sells President Bush's war policies. We watched parts of Parts 1 and 3 of the Gulf Crisis TV Project just for fun afterwards.

January 17th
"GUNS, DRUGS, AND THE CIA"
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. in Room 1-390
A 60 min long PBS expose on how the CIA has used drug lords and drug money to fight secret wars around the world for the past forty years. Focuses on Laos (1960-73) and the Contra War in Nicaragua. Called an "absolutely amazing program."

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1995

November 29, 1995
Food bank volunteering
[article]

November 9, 1995
The Environment in Lebanon:
A General Study of Anthropogenic Effects with an Emphasis on the Management of the Cidrus libani
Rania Masri & The Cedars Awareness and Salvation Effort
Bldg 54 Room 100, 6.30pm
A discussion of the human impact on the Lebanese ecosystem in terms of pollution, extinction of secies and general deforestation, with an emphasis on the Cedar forests
Sponsored by: The Lebanese Club at MIT . The Lebanese Social and Cultural Club at Northeastern . The Arab Students Association at BU . The Middle Eastern Association at Wellesley . The Arab Club at Tufts . Student Pugwash at MIT The Deforestation Study Group at MIT . S.A.V.E. AT MIT . The Arab Club at Tufts

November 4, 1995
"IS CONSUMERISM KILLING OUR WORLD???"
Room 1-114, 6:00 p.m.
A Talk by David Gordon Wilson, Professor of Mechanical Engineering Emeritus.

October 28, 1995
Film showing: "MANUFACTURING CONSENT"
Room 1-390, 7-11 pm
A film documentary on Noam Chomsky and his ideology. Contrasts the involvement of the media in U.S. involvement in atrocities of Vietnam and East Timor. Raises critical questions about the media's manipulation of the American public. Also contains interviews and much biographical information about Professor Noam Chomsky.

October 28, 1995
Hiking and Good Conversation!
Hiking in Winchester Falls. Very very fun! Trip to Winchester was by train. Met with pugwash members and the home of our new faculty advisor, Professor David Gordon Wilson. From noon to 5:45 p.m. If you didn't go, you missed missing the right train station and you also missed two great rounds of Pictionary!!!

September 30, 1995
Film: "Panama Deception"
Room 1-390, 8:00 p.m.
A film about the media's affect on U.S. public awareness during Operation Just Cause in Panama, one year before Desert Storm

September 19, 1995
MIT Pugwash First Meeting of the Year
Room 6-120
Updates on future events. Watched "Deadly Deception", an INFACT-produced 1991 Academy Award winning documentary about General Electric's nuclear research plants.

WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 1994
Last Meeting of the Year
ROOM 4-145, 9-10 pm

Saturday, May 13, 1995
"SALT OF THE EARTH"
Room 1-390, 8:00 p.m.

MONDAY MAY 1ST, 1995
Genes and Behavior
Discussion with Chris Richardson (BU Student Pugwash)
10-280 at MIT, at 9:00 p.m.

April/May?, 1995
Viewing and Discussion of "THE HANDMAID's TALE"
2-105

TuESDAY, Apr. 11, 1995
Student Pugwash Meeting and Discussion
PRIVATE DINing ROOM #1, 8:30 p.m.

MARCH 18th, 1995
"MANUFACTURING CONSENT"
ROOM 1-390, 8pm
Sponsored with BU Student Pugwash

March 15, 1995
Student Pugwash Meeting
ROOM 8-105, 8-9 pm

Wednesday, March 1, 1995
Meeting
8 pm til 9 pm, Bldg 8, Rm 119

March 22, 1995
Study Group on Genes and Complex Behavior
BU, 8-10pm

February 21, 1995
Meeting
MIT, Bldg 8, Rm 205, 9 pm to 10 pm

February 13, 1995
Meeting
MIT, Bldg 10, Room 280, 8 pm

Monday, Jan 16th, 1995
Meeting and Discussion
Private Dining Room # 3, 2:30-4:30 pm

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1994

December 1, 1994
Dinner and Discussion
5-7pm, Private Dining Room #3

November, 1994
Human Genome Project Conference
Tech article: 1

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 5th, 1994
Meeting
5:30 p.m., FOURTH FLOOR of the (Stratton) Student Center
Get Up and GO Committee (Student Pugwash's first committee)

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1986

October, 1986
Student survey on MIT education: 1

MIT Student Pugwash first term meeting
Wednesday, September 10, 5pm
Room 1-214
[article]

January, 1986
What Makes a Good Engineering Education?
Co-sponsored with the Science, Technology and Society Program
Tech artcle: 1

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1985

Curriculum reform
Tech articles: 1, 2

Student survey on the social impacts of science and technology
Tech article: 1

Military research at MIT
Tech articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Apartheid
Tech article: 1

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1984

Student survey on public involvment in research
Tech article: 1

MIT's legal exemptions
Tech articles: 1, 2