Events Calendar

Join us for dinner with Dr. Aleksandra Mozdzanowska! Come meet Dr. Alex in person, and enjoy a meal while learning about her experiences in HR leadership.Dr. Alex is the Chief People Officer at Commonwealth Fusion Systems with over 10 years of experience leading strategic HR programs, growing and managing teams, and delivering business results. She has a versatile background spanning strategy and execution in Operations, Technology, HR, and Communications. Prior to Commonwealth Fusion Systems, she served as Vice President of Human Resources at Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation, where she advanced through various HR leadership roles, including Director of Human Resource Operations and Director of Program Operations. Dr. Alex has also served as Director of Operations at the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund. She spent time working across different sectors in operations and technology roles.As an MIT alum, Dr. Alex draws from her extensive educational background at the Institute. She earned her Ph.D. in Engineering Systems from MIT in 2008, followed by a post-doctoral degree in AeroAstro in 2009. She also holds a Master of Science in AeroAstro Systems Engineering from 2004. Her undergraduate years at MIT included dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Literature. During her time at MIT, she was involved with MISTI Germany and the Public Service Center.Register in Handshake. Dinner will be served for the first 30 attendees. This CAPD event is open to MIT undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and alumni.

Join us on Monday evenings for Argentine tango classes with outstanding instructors. Whether you are completely new to tango, or already have some experience, you will find a friendly environment in which to learn new things and improve your technique. You don't have to bring a partner, since the classes involve rotations with all participants.Full Series: Sep 15, 22, 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, Nov 3, 10, 17, 24, Dec 1, 8, 15.For all info and registration, visit following link.

Please register above so we can order enough cider and hot chocolate! Drop by anytime and stay as long as you want.Presented by the MIT Office of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life (ORSEL), What is Your Light? transforms the MIT Chapel into a living canvas of light, sound, and reflection. Voices from across the MIT community merge into a one-hour audio track, accompanied by live musicians and interactive projections. Visitors are invited to strike a tam-tam, illuminating lanterns of light and sending ripples of sound across the Kresge Oval, or light their own lantern to float upon the Chapel’s waters. Together, we celebrate the values, stories, and visions that guide our community.Inside the MIT Chapel, we invite you to reflect on the question: “What is your light?”:Record your thoughts for the realtalk@mit archivesWrite your reflections on a lanternFloat your lantern in the moat, adding your response to others from the MIT communityCreated by MF Dynamics in partership with ORSEL and realtalk@MIT.Free and open to the public. Funded in part by the Council for the Arts at MIT. This project has been approved by the Office of the Vice Provost and the Open Space Working Group.This event is part of ORSEL's Refresh Days, a series honoring new year's celebrations and festivals of light from the world's major religions-from Diwali (October 20) to Nowruz, Lunar New Year, and more.Photo by Ellie Montmayor from Fall 2024 Refresh Days event, Light the Moat.

Writing Together Online offers the structured writing time to help you stay focused and productive during the busy fall months. Join our daily 90-minute writing sessions and become part of a community of scholars who connect online, set realistic goals, and write together in the spirit of accountability and camaraderie. We offer writing sessions every workday, Monday through Friday. The program is open to all MIT students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and affiliates who are working on papers, proposals, thesis/dissertation chapters, application materials, and other writing projects.Please register for any number of sessions:Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 9:00–10:30am (EST) Tuesday and Thursday, 8:00–9:30am and 9:30-11:00am (EST)For more information and to register, go to this link or check the WCC website. Please spread the word and join with colleagues and friends. MIT Students and postdocs who attend at least 5 sessions per challenge will be entered into a gift-card raffle.

Writing Together Online offers the structured writing time to help you stay focused and productive during the busy fall months. Join our daily 90-minute writing sessions and become part of a community of scholars who connect online, set realistic goals, and write together in the spirit of accountability and camaraderie. We offer writing sessions every workday, Monday through Friday. The program is open to all MIT students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and affiliates who are working on papers, proposals, thesis/dissertation chapters, application materials, and other writing projects.Please register for any number of sessions:Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 9:00–10:30am (EST) Tuesday and Thursday, 8:00–9:30am and 9:30-11:00am (EST)For more information and to register, go to this link or check the WCC website. Please spread the word and join with colleagues and friends. MIT Students and postdocs who attend at least 5 sessions per challenge will be entered into a gift-card raffle.

The Picower Institute Fall 2025 Symposium: "Circuits of Survival and Homeostasis"Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2025Time: 9::30am - 4::30pmLocation: 46-3002, Singleton Auditorium (Third Floor of MIT Building 46)Faculty Organizer: Sara PrescottRegistration: Free but required. Please click here to register.Understanding how the brain senses and responds to internal physiological states—like hunger, thirst, and inflammation—is vital to survival. Recent advances are revealing the circuits that link body and brain to maintain homeostasis and shape behavior. The Picower Institute's Fall 2025 Symposium, "Circuits of Survival and Homeostasis," gathers leading researchers exploring how these systems monitor, regulate, and repair fundamental physiological functions, offering insights into their mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets.Presenters:Ya-Chieh Hsu, PhD, Harvard Zachary Knight, PhD, University of California, San Francisco, HHMIMark Krasnow, PhD, Stanford University Qin Liu, PhD, Washington University in St. LouisYuki Oka, PhD, CaltechClifford B. Saper, Harvard Li Ye, PhD, Scripps Research Institute, HHMI

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.

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.

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.

Please join us for the next CSAIL Forum, featuring Prof. Shafi GoldwasserCSAIL Forum hosted by Daniela RusSpeaker: Shafi Goldwasser, Leighton Family ProfessorDate/time: Tuesday 12:00-1:00 EDT, October 21, 2025Venue: Live stream via Zoom: Registration requiredBio: https://www.csail.mit.edu/person/shafi-goldwasserTitle: What Cryptography Can Tell Us about AIAbstract: For decades now cryptographic tools and models have at their essence transformed technology platforms controlled by worst case adversaries to trustworthy platforms. In this talk I will describe how to use cryptographic tools and cryptographic modeling to build trust in various phases of the machine learning pipelines. We will touch on privacy in the training and inference stage, verification protocols for the quality of machine learning models, and robustness in presence of adversaries. If time permits, I will show how cryptographic assumptions can help characterize the limits and possibilities of AI safety.

MAD Reads! A book Club on design that meets quarterlyThis October, we're discussing Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making by Tony Fadell.THE BOOKAs a prelude to iPod designer Tony Fadell’s fireside chat with MoMA Senior Curator of Architecture and Design Paola Antonelli on October 22, we will be discussing Fadell's book, Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making.In this candid guide, Fadell outlines a roadmap for starting and managing new ventures, working with hardware, software, and people, navigating failure, and acting decisively in the midst of uncertainty.As part of the discussion, we will look at some of the book’s key themes:Do Fail LearnData Versus OpinionMaking the Intangible TangibleStorytellingMarrying F\for MoneyYou Can Only Have One CustomerBuilding Your TeamA limited supply of complimentary copies are available from MAD; contact mitmad@mit.edu.MAD PREPBelow are optional activities you can pursue in advance of the meeting to enrich your book club experience:Reflect on a time when you moved forward but things didn’t go as expected. What lessons did you learn, and how did those lessons shape your future decisions?Fadell states that “college is a time to take risks.” What risks have you taken?Fadell asserts, “What you do matters. Where you work matters.” Why does it matter – and to whom?Consider what it means to be exacting and expecting great work. In the workplace how does this relate to “micro managing”?Choose a product. What story is it telling—and how?Think of a user experience that was especially positive. What made it successful?Think of a user experience that was frustrating. How could it be improved? ADDITIONAL RESOURCESBuild: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making by Tony Fadell – Reading ListTony Fadell TED Talk on Habituation: The first secret of design is … noticingTony Fadell 2015 Reading List on Creativity (blog.ted.com)

Are you creating or managing research data? This hands-on workshop will provide an overview of data management topics, including file organization and naming, data security and backups, tools for collaborating with others in the lab, and data publishing, storage and sharing. We'll also cover journal publisher requirements and writing the data management plans that are required by most funders, as well as data management issues related to closing out projects and moving between institutions. Geared towards those in postdoc or research scientist roles, but all are welcome.

High-performance reusable rocket engines recently developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin, and newer ones in development for low-cost heavy-lift launch vehicles, will enable next-generation space economics and accessibility. This talk will describe the work of MIT AeroAstro’s Zachary Cordero and his group along these lines, leveraging modern materials design, advanced manufacturing, and computational design tools to develop and manufacture the specialized materials that will power the future of spaceflight.

Speaker: Michal Shavit (NYU)Title: Weak turbulence of 2D internal gravity wavesAbstract:Our work addresses a long-standing problem: describing internal wave turbulence in the ocean from the governing equations. A promising avenue lies in the kinetic approach. But the stratified Euler equations form an anisotropic, non-canonical Hamiltonian system, making the classical wave-turbulence approach inapplicable. We take a new route: studying the singular limit of vanishing rotation, where rotation acts as a regulator near the curve of zero-frequency slow modes. This regime is both mathematically tractable and oceanographically relevant. In this limit, we derive the turbulent spectrum of 2D weakly interacting internal gravity waves, which matches the celebrated Garrett–Munk spectrum known from observations, for the first time from first principles.

Ten minutes for your mind@2:50 every day at 2:50 pm in multiple time zones:Europa@2:50, EET, Athens, Helsinki (UTC+2) (7:50 am EST) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88298032734Atlantica@2:50, EST, New York, Toronto (UTC-4) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85349851047Pacifica@2:50, PST, Los Angeles, Vancouver (UTC=7) (5:50 pm EST) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85743543699Almost everything works better again if you unplug it for a bit, including your mind. Stop by and unplug. Get the benefits of mindfulness without the fuss.@2:50 meets at the same time every single day for ten minutes of quiet together.No pre-requisite, no registration needed.Visit the website to view all @2:50 time zones each day.at250.org or at250.mit.edu

Speaker: Katherine Stange (University of Colorado Boulder)Title: The arithmetic of thin orbitsAbstract:We consider the local-to-global question for orbits of thin groups/semigroups. We will discuss Apollonian circle packings, continued fractions, and some related problems. In the Apollonian case, we ask about the integers which occur as curvatures in a packing. We observe that they satisfy certain congruence restrictions, and ask whether all sufficiently large integers otherwise occur. In the case of continued fractions, we consider variants of Zaremba's conjecture on the rationals with bounded continued fractions. Joint work includes work with Haag, Kertzer, and Rickards.