Past Events
May 12, 2009
Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, will present the May 2009 Karl Taylor Compton Lecture. Dr. Chu is a co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work in methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light. He is the first Nobel laureate to serve in a U.S. cabinet position. Until his DOE appointment he was a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
May 11, 2009
Prof. Ken Golden of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Utah will present a series of three Houghton Lectures on the topics of sea ice and climate (May 11), modeling ice process and feedbacks (May 14), and monitoring the response of sea ice to climate change (May 15). Abstract: The polar sea ice packs are key components of the climate system and are critical indicators of climate change. As our climate has warmed up, the precipitous decline of the summer Arctic ice pack is probably the most visible, large scale change on the planet's surface over the past decade.
May 09, 2009
The 3nd Annual Youth Summit on Global Warming is hosted by Technology and Culture Forum at MIT and the Boston Latin School's Youth Climate Action Network. Youth CAN's Annual Summit is open to students in grades 7-12 as well as to the educators of students in grades 7-12. It is a day of workshops, speakers, and activities focused on global climate change and sustainable living. Online registration is required. Visit the Youth CAN website for the agenda and full list of workshops.
May 08, 2009
Prof. John McNeill of Georgetown University will speak in the MIT Seminar on Environmental and Agricultural History. This talk considers the links between energy regimes and political power in the international system over the past 400 years. How did the availability and use of fossil fuels affect the affairs of nations? In particular, how did peat, coal, and oil help the Dutch Republic, the British Empire, and the United States in their quests for survival and power? What might be the geopolitical implications of the next energy regime? Dr.
May 07, 2009
Prof. Bert Bras of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, will present a seminar sponsored by the Engineering Systems Division, Sustainability@MIT, and Materials Systems Lab. Abstract: Sustainable design and manufacturing is receiving increased attention. Current design guidance in this area, however, seems to draw more upon experiences and cases with products of engineering that damaged humanity's environment than looking at fundamental principles for achieving sustainability.
May 05, 2009
Prof. Severin Borenstein of the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. Abstract: As US energy challenges mount, the public and political debate continues to demonstrate disturbing misunderstandings of both the problems and potential solutions. The US faces three distinct energy challenges: maintaining moderate energy costs in order to benefit the economy, controlling greenhouse gases and other environmental damage from energy use, and reducing the geopolitical consequences of dependence on crude oil.