Events Calendar

Speaker: Uriya First (University of Haifa)Title: Higher Essential Dimension: First StepsAbstract:Let $G$ be a linear algebraic group over a field $k$. Loosely speaking, the essential dimension of $G$ measures the number of independent parameters that are required to define a $G$-torsor over a $k$-field. It measures the complexity of $G$-torsors and equivalent objects. One formal way to define it is to say that the essential dimension of $G$ is $\leq m$ if every $G$-torsor over a finite-type $k$-scheme is, away from some codimension-$1$ closed subscheme, the specialization of a $G$-torsor over a finite-type $k$-scheme of dimension $m$.Recently, for every integer $d\geq 0$, we defined the $d$-essential dimension of $G$, denoted $\mathrm{ed}^{(d)}(G)$, by replacing ``codimension-$1$'' with ``codimension-$(d+1)$''. After recalling ordinary essential dimension and its usages, I will discuss work in progress about the new sequence of invariants $\{\mathrm{ed}^{(d)}(G)\}_{d\geq 0}$ and its asymptotic behavior as $d\to \infty$. For example, $\mathrm{ed}^{(d)}(\mathbf{G}_m)=d$, $\mathrm{ed}^{(d)}(\mathbf{\mu}_n)=d+1$ and $\mathrm{ed}^{(d (\mathbf{G}_m\times\mathbf{G}_m)=2d$ in characteristic $0$. Moreover, there is a dichotomy between unipotent and non-unipotent groups: If $G$ is unipotent, the sequence $\{\mathrm{ed}^{(d)}(G)\}_{d\geq 0}$ is bounded, whereas if $G$ is not unipotent, then $\mathrm{ed}^{(d) (G)\geq d-C_G$ for some constant $C_G$. There are also some interesting anomalies.

Join us for a presentation and panel discussion on science storytelling through book arts with artists Bo-Won Keum (Lecturer, MIT Architecture), Sarah Hulsey (PhD in Linguistics, MIT) and Caroline Hu (Assistant Professor of Biology, Massachusetts College of Art and Design). Light refreshments provided. Registration encouraged.The term book arts encompasses artwork inspired by the concept, form, and function of the book. It includes formats such as artist’ books, zines, and comics. MIT Libraries’ Distinctive Collections holds a growing collection of artists’ books and zines that align with the Institute’s core values and enhance its teaching and research mission.Schedule for event:5:10-5:15 - Introductory remarks5:15-6:00 - Panelists' presentations6:00-6:15 - Discussion and Q&A6:15-6:30 - RefreshmentsThis event is part of the Libraries' Science Storytelling through Book Arts series. Other events in the series include a zine-making workshop and an open house featuring new acquisitions and other materials from Distinctive Collections and Rotch Library.

Presented by David DiPasquale Professor of the Practice in the Department of Political Science at Boston CollegeAbstract: The brief talk will introduce the key elements and players involved in the so-called “Maimonidean Controversy” of the 13th/14th centuries, when rabbinic authorities in Montpellier and Barcelona condemned Moses ben Maimon (d. 1204) as a heretic and encouraged the burning of his Mishneh Torah and Guide of the Perplexed. We will trace the origins of this heretical brand of Aristotelianism back to the writings of Muslim philosopher Abu Nasr Alfarabi (d. 950), and compare this radical tradition of “modern” or post-classical philosophy with the more famous one inspired by Machiavelli.Bio: David M. DiPasquale is Professor of the Practice in the Department of Political Science at Boston College, where he serves as Director of both the undergraduate John Marshall Project and Graduate Studies in the Islamic Civilization and Societies Program.Ancient Medieval Studies Colloquium Fall 2025 | Website December 2 – AMS: Sarah Olsen, Williams College & Naomi Weiss, Harvard University

Ashish Avikunthak Presented with The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture and the HTC Forum Part of the MIT Fall 2025 Architecture Lecture Series.Bureaucratic Archaeology: State, Science and Past in Postcolonial IndiaIn this talk, Ashish Avikunthak outlines the central arguments of his book Bureaucratic Archaeology: State, Science and Past in Postcolonial India (Cambridge University Press, 2021), an ethnographic investigation into the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and its role in shaping archaeological narratives in postcolonial India. Rather than presenting a linear or celebratory history of Indian archaeology, Avikunthak offers a critical account of how a modest colonial institution transformed into a formidable bureaucratic apparatus. He demonstrates how contemporary ASI’s practices are driven by nationalist imperatives, claims to scientific authority, and spatial politics, revealing archaeology’s instrumental role in constructing a Hindu-centric vision of the past. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews, the book exposes the stratification of archaeological labor and the spatial segregation between archaeologists and workers, echoing colonial hierarchies. Through the ASI’s work at Harappan sites in western India, Avikunthak reveals how archaeology is mobilized to legitimize a flawed narrative of Vedic-Aryan origins, reinforcing ideological agendas under the guise of scientific inquiry. Avikunthak connects these practices to broader political movements, notably the ASI-led excavations at Ayodhya following the demolition of the Babri Masjid, illustrating archaeology’s entanglement with religious nationalism. The book critiques the objectivity of ASI archaeology, showing how its epistemology is subverted by postcolonial corruption and Hindutva ideology.BiographyAshish Avikunthak is an Indian avant-garde filmmaker, film theorist, archaeologist and cultural anthropologist. His films have been the subject of more than a dozen retrospectives, eighteen solo shows and they have been shown worldwide in major film festivals, group shows and museums. He has been named Future Greats 2014 by Art Review. In 2025, he received the Ground Glass Award from Prismatic Ground, the New York–based festival of experimental documentary and avant-garde film, in recognition of his "outstanding contributions to the field of experimental media." He is the author of “Bureaucratic Archaeology: State, Science and Past in Postcolonial India,” published by Cambridge University Press in 2021, that ethnographically interrogates the role of Archaeological Survey of India in the making of the past in contemporary India. His scholarly works have been published in the Journal of Social Archaeology, Journal of Material Culture, Contributions to Indian Sociology and The Indian Economic and Social History Review among other publications. He has a PhD in cultural anthropology from Stanford University and earlier taught at Yale University. He is now a Professor of Film media at the Harrington School of Communication, University of Rhode Island.This lecture will be held in person in Long Lounge, 7-429 and streamed online on YouTube.Lectures are free and open to the public. Lectures will be held Thursdays at 6 PM ET in 7-429 (Long Lounge) and streamed online unless otherwise noted. HTC Forum events are made possible with the generous support of Thomas Beischer through the Lipstadt-Stieber Fund.

Join us at the MIT Museum for an evening exploring the connection between living organisms and the natural cycle of light and dark at the opening of Lighten Up! On Biology and Time.Part of the MIT Museum’s TIME thematic season, Lighten Up! features fifteen artists with eighteen immersive artworks, installations, and experiential environments, including work by Carsten Höller, James Carpenter, Liliane Lijn, Helga Schmid, and more. This exhibition was originally organized and presented by EPFL Pavilions and was curated by Anna Wirz-Justice, Marilyne Andersen, Sarah Kenderdine, and Giulia Bini.The evening will feature a panel discussion with Marilyne Andersen, artist Alan Bogana, and Harvard Professor of Neurobiology Elizabeth Klerman, moderated by MIT Museum Director Michael John Gorman, followed by a reception where visitors can explore the exhibition.Lighten Up! at the MIT Museum is supported by generous donors to the 2025 McDermott Award Gala, hosted by the Council for the Arts at MIT. This reception is supported by SwissNex.Doors open at 6:15pm. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that some ticket holders may be required to stand.We have a limited number of free tickets available for students. Please reach out to museumregadmin@mit.edu.

Time: 7:00 PMLocation: Springfield, MA / Springfield College

The irony of artificial intelligence is that it often reveals more about human intelligence than machines themselves.From AI in the home to robots in the workplace, the presence of AI all around us compels us to question its potential and recognize the risks. What has become clear is that the more we advance AI technology and consider machine ability versus human ability, the more we need to mind the gap.Researchers at MIT have been at the forefront of this evolving field. The work presented in this exhibition builds on the pioneering contributions of figures such as Claude Shannon and Seymour Papert, while highlighting contemporary research that spans computer science, mechanical engineering, neuroscience, and the social sciences.As research probes the connections between human and machine intelligence, it also underscores the profound differences. With AI now embedded in everyday life — from smart assistants in our homes to robots in the workplace — we are challenged to ask critical questions about its potential, its risks, and the boundaries between machine ability and human capability.Join us in shining light on the tremendous promise, unforeseen impacts, and everyday misconceptions of AI in this riveting, interactive exhibition.Learn more about the exhibition.

Imagine different worlds in Cosmograph: Speculative Fictions for the New Space Age, an exhibition that brings art and science together to examine possible futures where outer space is both a frontier for human exploration and a new territory for exploitation and development by private enterprise.We are living at the dawn of a New Space Age. What will the future hold? Will space elevators bring humanity's space junk to turn it into useful material here on Earth? Will asteroid mining be the next frontier in prospecting? Will the promise of geo-engineering turn into a nightmare of unintended consequences?Explore these possibilities and more in our new exhibition that blurs the lines between fact and fantasy, and art and science.

MIT is not a place so much as it is a unique collection of exceptional people.What is essential at MIT is asking questions others may not ask, trying the unexpected in pursuit of a greater solution, and embracing distinctive skills and combinations of talents. Whether encompassing global issues, ventures into space, or efforts to improve our daily lives, stories told in this exhibit showcase the process of discovery that sits at the heart of MIT.Delve into the experimental culture and collaborative spirit of the MIT community in this dynamic and interactive exploration of groundbreaking projects and ongoing innovation."MIT’s greatest invention may be itself—an unusual concentration of unusual talent, forever reinventing itself on a mission to make a better world." — President L. Rafael ReifLocated in the Brit J. (1961) and Alex (1949) d'Arbeloff GallerySupported by the Biogen Foundation

How can code be used as a creative tool by artists and designers?This question motivates the work of the Future Sketches group at the MIT Media Lab. Led by artist and educator Zach Lieberman, the group aims to help us “see” code by using it to make artistically controlled, computer-generated visuals.Explore some of the latest research from the group that uses typography and digital tools to create interactive, creative, and immersive work.Located in our Martin J. (1959) and Eleanor C. Gruber Gallery.

Experience the captivating work of Arthur Ganson, where his perceptions of the world are choreographed into the subtle movements and gestures of his artistic machines."These machines are daydreams condensed into physical form, computer programs manifesting in three-dimensional space." - Arthur GansonArthur Ganson's medium is a feeling or idea inspired by the world he perceives around him – from the delicate fluttering of paper to the sheer scale of the universe. Combining engineering genius with whimsical choreography, he creates machines to encode those ideas into the physical world. But he invites everyone to draw their own conclusions on the meaning behind the subtle gestures of the machines.Currently on display are a select group of Arthur Ganson's works from our MIT Museum Collection. We expect to exhibit his work in large numbers in the future.

MIT Collects features objects and other media from the museum's vast collection, arranged in areas that tell stories, explore themes, and dive into subject areas.Modeling Everything:Models and model-making, both the objects and the action, are vital to every research area at MIT and to the life of the Institute itself. Explore a wide array of models for teaching, discovery, research, and documentation, from ships to crystal structures to architectural design.Radical Atoms:Hiroshi Ishii and the Tangible Media Group at the MIT Media Lab have pioneered new ways for people to interact with computers, with the invention of the “tangible user interface.” It began with a vision of “Tangible Bits,” where users can manipulate ordinary physical objects to access digital information. It evolved into a bolder vision of “Radical Atoms,” where materials can change form and reconfigure themselves just as pixels can on a screen.This experimental exhibit of three iconic works—SandScape, inFORM, and TRANSFORM—is part of the MIT Museum’s ongoing efforts to collect the physical machines as well as preserve the user experience of, in Ishii’s words, making atoms dance.A Sequence of Actions:Developed and operated at MIT, the Differential Analyzer, Whirlwind Computer, and Apollo Guidance Computer were massive and complex projects that involved thousands of people. See historical components and artifacts from this critical era in programming during the mid-20th century and explore how these early programmers influenced today’s digital culture.Technology and the Dream:Through recordings of students, staff, researchers, and community members, listen to personal reflections and gain a sense of the Black experience at MIT. This dynamic audio installation is co-curated with the MIT Black History Project.Totally Useless Things:Toys, puzzles, and play are a significant part of the creative process. Playful activity can shape a research agenda or an entire discipline. Extracurricular play — like MIT's famous hacks — enhances creativity and community. And play itself is a rich field for scientific research. Jump in and learn how curiosity is the fuel that discovery runs on.Located in the Edward O. Thorp Gallery

How can you investigate something you cannot see?The challenge of understanding the unknown motivates scientists today, just as it has inspired curious people for centuries.Using material from the Allen Forbes Collection, this exhibit traces the scientific process of observing, measuring, and describing that turned whales from monsters into mammals.Using prints from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries, Monsters of the Deep examines how European knowledge about the creatures of the sea was informed by new information from sailors, scholars, and beachcombers, and how that knowledge transformed what people understood about the natural world.Want a closer look at what we have on view? You can explore digitized versions of exhibition objects here.On view through January 2026.

Hiroshi Ishii and the Tangible Media Group at the MIT Media Lab have pioneered new ways for people to interact with computers, with the invention of the “tangible user interface.”It began with a vision of "Tangible Bits," where users can manipulate ordinary physical objects to access digital information. It evolved into a bolder vision of "Radical Atoms," where materials can change form and reconfigure themselves just as pixels can on a screen. This experimental exhibit of three iconic works — SandScape, inFORM, and TRANSFORM — is part of the MIT Museum's ongoing efforts to collect the physical machines as well as preserve the user experience of, in Ishii's words, making atoms dance.Learn more about the exhibits here, or watch the YouTube video of Hiroshi Ishii's talk at the MIT Museum below.This is an ongoing exhibition in our MIT Collects exhibition.

Janet Echelman's Remembering the Future widens our perspective in time, giving sculptural form to the history of the Earth's climate from the last ice age to the present moment, and then branching out to visualize multiple potential futures.Constructed from colored twines and ropes that are braided, knotted and hand-spliced to create a three-dimensional form, the immersive artwork greets you with its grand scale presiding over the MIT Museum lobby.This large-scale installation by 2022-2024 MIT Distinguished Visiting Artist Janet Echelman, was developed during her residency at the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST). Architect, engineer and MIT Associate Professor Caitlin Mueller collaborated on the development of the piece.The title, Remembering the Future was inspired by the writings commonly attributed to Søren Kierkegaard: "The most painful state of being is remembering the future, particularly the one you'll never have."As the culmination of three years of dedicated research and collaboration, this site-specific installation explores Earth's climate timeline, translating historical records and possible futures into sculptural form.Echelman's climate research for this project was guided by Professor Raffaele Ferrari and the MIT Lorenz Center, creators of En-ROADS simulator which uses current climate data and modeling to visualize the impact of environmental policies and actions on energy systems.Learn more about Janet Echelman and the MIT Museum x CAST Collaboration.Learn more about the exhibition at the MIT Museum.

On view October 1 -- December 11, 2025This exhibition draws on archival materials from the Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC) to explore a century of cultural heritage preservation in Aleppo, Syria. It takes as its point of departure the work of Kamil al-Ghazzi (1853–1933), the pioneering Aleppine historian whose influential three-volume chronicle, Nahr al-Dhahab fī Tārīkh Ḥalab (The River of Gold in the History of Aleppo), was published between 1924 and 1926.Ink, Stone, and Silver Light presents three modes of documentation—manuscript, built form, and photography—through which Aleppo’s urban memory has been recorded and preserved. Featuring figures such as Michel Écochard and Yasser Tabbaa alongside al-Ghazzi, the exhibition traces overlapping efforts to capture the spirit of a city shaped by commerce, craft, and coexistence. At a time when Syria again confronts upheaval and displacement, these archival fragments offer models for preserving the past while envisioning futures rooted in dignity, knowledge, and place.

To mark the U.S. premiere of Lighten Up! — a traveling exhibition originally shown at the EPFL Pavilions in Lausanne, Switzerland that explores circadian rhythms through artistic and scientific lenses — Swissnex, in collaboration with the MIT Museum, is holding a one day interdisciplinary symposium, bringing together artists, scientists, and the wider community to explore themes of light, rhythm, time, sleep, and perception.Framed by the metaphor of a prism – breaking light into its constituent colors – the day is structured into thematic segments that pair artists and scientists in dialogue, performance, or experiment. The prism can refract light into a spectrum, symbolizing how one event, idea or reality can be seen in multiple ways, depending on the angle or context. Like a rainbow appearing out of storm and light, multiplicity reveals itself in layers of color – each hue a different voice, a different view.Departing from the classical symposium format, the event will be enriched with artistic interventions that shift the sensory and conceptual register throughout the day, along with slow lighting transitions, rhythm-based exercises, dream writing stations, and guided moments of reflection. These elements invite participants to not only talk about circadian rhythms, but to inhabit them.To see full program details and register, visit Swissnex.org.October 29 10am - 4pm MIT Museum

Immersive real-time 3D ultrasound imaging in augmented reality: Contextual overlays for medical training & practiceDATE: Wednesday, October 29, 2025 TIME: 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET LOCATION: Virtual (register for webinar link); limited in-person spots available SPEAKERS: Jason Hou, PhD Student in the MIT Media Lab, Conformable Decoders Group and April Anlage, PhD candidate, MIT Mechanical EngineeringREGISTERABSTRACT #1Ultrasound imaging is non-radiative, portable, and widely used—but interpreting two dimensional (2D) slices in real time poses significant cognitive challenges, especially when spatial understanding is critical. Hou proposes a novel system for immersive, real-time, three dimensional (3D) ultrasound visualization using augmented reality (AR). Their approach reconstructs incoming ultrasound data into a dynamic 3D voxel representation that is overlaid directly on top of a real-world visual feed within an AR environment. This contextual overlay provides critical spatial reference points, ensuring operators remain oriented during live exploration of volumetric data. In medicine, it can enhance guidance during critical procedures or live-examination and create intuitive training tools. Outside of healthcare, potential uses include nondestructive testing in manufacturing, biomechanical analysis, and immersive STEM education, where dynamic structure changes within an object are contextualized in real-time spatiotemporal resolution.ABSTRACT #2Ultrasound is a safe, portable, and inexpensive medical imaging modality. However, it can be difficult for inexperienced users to accurately and completely image a target. By tracking where a user has scanned, an ultrasound volume can be built. Using the information contained in the volume, scan-specific user guidance can be communicated. In this talk, Anlage will describe the ongoing development of a HoloLens 2 augmented reality (AR) application designed to efficiently guide a user through collecting a complete ultrasound scan over a given volume. With guided volume ultrasound, there is the potential to improve the education, training, and accessibility of ultrasound for medical imaging.SPEAKER BIOSJason Hou is a PhD student at the MIT Media Lab and MIT HEALS Graduate Fellow. He has a broad range of interests and experiences spanning brain-machine-interfaces to augmented reality imaging systems. His current work explores immersive, real-time 3D ultrasound visualization in augmented reality, creating contextual overlays that enhance surgical guidance, live diagnostics, and training. A systems builder with broad interests across electronics, materials, and biomedicine, Jason is passionate about developing chronically implantable and wearable technologies that seamlessly monitor and modulate human health.April Anlage is a PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. Her research focuses on clinical applications of volume ultrasound for improved repeatability. Prior to her Ph.D., April completed a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering at MIT with research focused on self-efficacy and community in remote engineering design classes. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho, Southern Africa, teaching high school math and physics from 2016-18 and graduated with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2016. Her other interests include hiking, participatory design practices, and STEM education.The IMMERSED seminar series is an exploration into how immersive technology and new modalities for manipulating and understanding data are shaping innovations across science, engineering, and art. These events—a mixture of lectures, demonstrations, and tutorials—will offer a deep dive into a capability or set of capabilities and how they can be applied to various fields.IMMERSED is sponsored by the MIT.nano Immersion Lab, which provides space, tools, and a platform to connect the physical to the digital, joining researchers through creative projects that bridge multiple disciplines.

Speaker: Elinor Karlsson (University of Massachusetts Medical School / Broad Institute)Title: Exploring 100 million years of mammalian evolution for the origins of exceptional traitsAbstract: The Zoonomia Project, one of the largest comparative genomics initiatives ever un- dertaken, compared 240 mammalian species spanning over 100 million years of evo- lutionary history. This work revealed that at least 11% of the human genome is evo- lutionarily constrained, and that these constrained bases are more enriched for vari- ants explaining common disease heritability than any other functional annotation. Yet nearly half of the most highly constrained bases remain unannotated in exist- ing datasets, underscoring how much of the genome’s regulatory landscape remains unexplored. Building on this foundation, we are integrating the “common garden” framework from classical ecology with modern genomics to assay and compare cel- lular responses across diverse mammals. This effort includes RNA-seq and ATAC- seq profiling across 12 species and seven experimental states varying in temperature, oxygen, and glucose levels. We can identify molecular responses shared across mam- mals and those unique to species with remarkable physiological adaptations—such as camels that thrive in extreme heat, seals that dive deeply without suffering oxygen damage, and bats that tolerate extreme blood sugar fluctuations. Uncovering the ge- nomic mechanisms that enable these exceptional traits may reveal new strategies for improving human health.In person or on Zoom at https://mit.zoom.us/j/93513735220