Past Events
January 29, 2009
Speaker: Hamsa Balakrishnan, Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems, MIT. The design and operation of air transportation systems pose many control and optimization challenges. We would like to increase the efficiency of operations and their robustness, but need to take into account other stakeholder objectives such as maintaining safety and limiting environmental impact. This talk will discuss the challenges posed by uncertainty due to weather, airline competition and environmental concerns.
January 28, 2009
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, animal agriculture accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) than any other human activity, including even transportation. Yet, the topic is almost wholly ignored by many leading environmental figures and advocacy organizations.
January 28, 2009
Prof. Marilyn Fogel of the Geophysical Laboratory at the Carnegie Institution of Washington will present a lecture in the EAPS IAP Lecture Series on Climate Effects on Human Evolution and Human Impacts on Climate Change. During 2009 there will be the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species.
January 28, 2009
Professors Ben Olken and Michael Greenstone of the MIT Economics Department will present a seminar that addresses: How will future climate change affect the economy? They will discuss recent research that uses historical shifts in temperature and precipitation to understand how climate affects agricultural production, health, and economic growth.
January 27, 2009
Speaker: John Heywood, Sun Jae Professor of Mechanical Engineering, MIT. This seminar will summarize the findings in the recent report of the same name. The multi-year research program assessed the technology and fuels that could be developed and commercialized in light-duty vehicles over the next 25 years, their potential impact on fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions during the production and use of both fuels and vehicles, and the policy and fiscal measures that would be needed.
January 26, 2009
Prof. Peter Huybers of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University will present a lecture in the EAPS IAP Lecture Series on Climate Effects on Human Evolution and Human Impacts on Climate Change. During 2009 there will be the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species.