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.

Speaker: Chirag Patel (Harvard Medical School)Title: Interrogating the multi-omic architecture of the exposome and intervention from populations to individualsAbstract: The “exposome” — the array of environmental exposures from diet to chemical to infection - is vast, dynamic, and intertwined with biology across scales, but unlike the genome remains elusive despite thousands of candidate studies. This talk traces a practical pipeline for scaling exposome-phenome associations and calibrating them with intervention. First, we show population-scale maps relating hundreds of environmental and lifestyle factors to diverse phenotypes, quantifying realistic effect sizes, replication, and variance explained. Modeling correlated exposures jointly reveals modest but meaningful gains—an architecture reminiscent of polygenic traits—and sets baselines for discovery, prioritization, and study design. Second, we move to a promising future, integrate multi-omic layers—especially proteomics and metabolomics—to characterize trajectories of metabolic dysfunction and to nominate biology-anchored targets. By leveraging observational cohorts alongside interventional datasets (e.g., GLP-1–based therapy), we identify response-linked signatures for experimental opportunities. Third, we show recent work in the group to untangle intra-individual variation in glucose response, using AI approaches such as interpretable state-space models that fuse continuous glucose monitoring with wearable signals to forecast short-term risk and run counterfactual “what-if” scenarios for personalized self-management. We will also discuss emerging consortium for exposomic research, Nexus-exposomics.orgIn person or on Zoom at https://mit.zoom.us/j/93513735220

The demand for electrical energy has exploded over the last five years. Data centers, electric vehicles, and the electrification in many industry processes have increased the demand on the grid, not seen since the 1940s. Wind and solar energy are the cheapest forms of energy at point source, with batteries rapid development starting to address the energy storage problem with renewables. Natural gas is also playing a leading role in supplying the energy needed for electricity generation. The use of nuclear power is also getting attention, reinventing itself using small modular and micro reactors. Electricity demand has caused significant increases in the cost of electricity generation across the entire country. Is there another energy source that we may have overlooked at the multi-quad energy level? If so, what needs to be done to integrate this energy source into our current infrastructure in the U.S.?In this talk, Dr. James Seaba will explore pure carbon as a potential solution to our electricity generation demand. He will outline the challenges and some technical approaches to unlock carbon’s huge energy potential. He will also highlight the exciting economical aspects of using carbon.Please register to attend. Lunch will be provided.About Dr. James SeabaDr. James Seaba currently serves as Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). His focus at ARPA-E is on domestic synthetic fuels and chemicals production, novel energy system designs, energy distribution and storage.Dr. Seaba has spent over 30 years developing economically driven energy systems that minimize environmental impacts. He has spent most of his career in the oil and gas (O&G) sector, with some experience in automotive and aerospace. In O&G, he has successfully developed technologies for both upstream and downstream business units. Recently, Dr. Seaba has focused his efforts on domestic energy expansion in synthetic hydrocarbon fuels, developing price parity technologies to produce hydrocarbons compatible with U.S. infrastructure and end-use devices.Dr. Seaba founded and led a US-based research center in Ohio known as the Honda Research Institute (HRI). HRI developed cutting edge technology in microreactors, advanced hydrogen storage, and PEM fuel cell system development. At ConocoPhillips, Dr. Seaba developed fuel cell technologies, supported refining processes, hydrogen production, carbon capture, and novel low carbon processes for in-situ oil sands extraction. Dr. Seaba has leveraged internal research programs with U.S. National laboratories and Universities. He has developed technologies that minimize the environmental footprint for a variety of energy processes over the last 30 years. These processes cover a broad industry spectrum that includes the development of novel hydrogen production technology for refining to the reduction of carbon intensity in oil sands production. Dr. Seaba has successfully developed and executed technology strategies across multiple industries. Consistently recognized for creative problem solving, leading successful cross-functional teams and establishing/executing value-added technology development programs. He has successfully commercialized technology from idea to practice. Dr. Seaba has over 30 US patents and patent applications, and over 30 referred journal publications.

ORSEL presents concerts each month, holding space in the Chapel for stillness and reflection. Drop in anytime and enjoy tasty mORSELs after each concert!UPCOMING:Evan Ziporyn: More Sonic Holograms (October 1)Evan Ziporyn, Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Music at MIT & Faculty Director of MIT CAST, weaves live clarinet, bass clarinet, wind synth, effects boxes and loop pedals into a multidimensional, immersive and meditative auditory journey.TBA: (November 5)Christine Southworth: Snowflake Sonification (December 3)

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

MIT Program in Polymers and Soft Matter (PPSM) Seminar

"On tubes; or, Model-building from rich data by isolating concepts" (with Matthew Jackson, Tyler McCormick, Karl Rohe, and Brian Xu)

Abstract:Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of inorganic-organic porous solids that have been of interest for a widerange of potential applications from energy to medicine. October 8, 2025 was an exciting day for the MOF community,where these materials (or more speci cally their co-inventors) were recognized with the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.Conventionally, MOFs are constructed from metal ions (or metal ion clusters) and rigid, highly ‘directional’ organicligands containing metal coordination groups. Rigidity and directionality have generally been considered requirementsfor forming the highly periodic, crystalline, and persistently porous structures of MOFs. As part of an ongoing eOort inour laboratory to integrate MOFs with organic polymers, this presentation will describe the use of  exible oligomers orpolymers to form crystalline ‘oligoMOFs’ or ‘polyMOFs’. The characteristics of these MOF-like materials and the ability oftheir underlying organic building blocks to change the structure and properties of the MOF will be detailed. It is expectedthat oligoMOFs, polyMOFs, and other MOF-polymer composites are both fundamentally interesting pursuits inmaterials chemistry, but also may help advance the utilization of MOFs into commercial technologies.

Speaker: Joakim Faegerman (Yale Univeristy)Title: Local constancy of the category of nilpotent automorphic sheaves over the moduli of curves.Abstract: A surprising prediction of the geometric Langlands conjecture is that the category of automorphic sheaves with nilpotent singular support is independent of the complex structure of the underlying curve. In this talk, we give a gentle introduction to the main objects appearing in the Betti geometric Langlands correspondence and then present (the idea behind) a proof of the Ben-Zvi-Nadler conjecture not relying on the geometric Langlands conjecture.

Join us in the Nexus to engage with recent acquisitions and highlights from Distinctive Collections and Rotch Library, including artist books, rare books, archives, and materials from the Aga Khan Documentation Center. Items featured at the open house will engage with the theme of science storytelling through book arts. Refreshments provided. Registration encouraged. Attendees are welcome to stop by anytime during the two-hour event.This event is part of the Libraries' Science Storytelling through Book Arts series. Other events in the series include a zine-making workshop and a panel discussion with book artists.

On Wednesday nights you are invited to come to The Table for peaceful Christian worship in the Chapel at 5:15 pm and dinner in the Main Dining Room of W11 at around 6:30 pm.We worship with beautiful songs, open conversation about the Scriptures, prayers and a simple sharing of communion around the altar. Then we enjoy dinner together and good company together. Whether you come every week or just drop by once in a while, there is a caring community for you at the Table.You are truly welcome to come as you are: undergrad, grad, or post-doc; sure of your faith or wondering what it is all about; gay, straight, bi, trans, questioning. Please join us for no-pressure worship and fellowship.Hosted by the Lutheran Epsicopal Ministry @ MIT. For more information, or to verify gathering times during holiday and vacation periods, please contact chaplains Andrew Heisen (heisen@mit.edu) and Kevin Vetiac (kvet246@mit.edu).Please note that we will not meet during the week of Thanksgiving nor between Christmas and New Year's Day. Please see our website (le-ministry.mit.edu) for updates on meeting times and locations as well as additional details.

Anti-choice movements have gained key victories in courts over the last few decades, including Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health which overturned the right to abortion in the United States. This talk will consider how contestation around science and medicine appears in litigation and the role of courts in validating controversial, and often incorrect, ideas about abortion from fetal personhood, maternal life, and the safety of abortion. These victories are part of a larger push to delegitimize abortion as a medical procedure and an option for those who seek to control their reproduction. For questions and concerns about accommodations, please contact wgs@mit.edu.

Have questions about disclosure and accommodations as you embark on your internship and career path? Join this session with Lime Connect to get some answers. We'll discuss ways to navigate the disclosure and accommodation process at every stage of the recruitment and employment process. You’ll also hear about student opportunities, resources and more. The session will wrap up with a Q&A.*Not sure if this session is for you?“ Students with disabilities may not always disclose, and many have non-apparent disabilities. Identification looks different for everyone, but all are welcome!Registration is required fpr this event. Please register here.

Come join the MIT Women’s Chorale as we experience the joy of making music together! New singers from throughout the MIT community are welcome on Wednesdays evenings, beginning on September 10, from 7 to 9 pm in Building 4 as we practice for our December concert.The Chorale, a concert choir focused on music for treble voice, is led by our talented music director, Nhung Truong, who makes each rehearsal a pleasure.We ask that prospective singers contact us at mitwc@mit.edu to register with us and be placed on an e mail list to receive necessary information. Further details are available on our website.https://web.mit.edu/womensleague/womenschorale/