Multicellular tissues are sculpted by the spatial and temporal coordination of cells and their interactions. Yet, the organizational principles that govern these events, and their disruption in disease, remain poorly understood. In this talk, I will first discuss our recent experimental work investigating multicellular dynamic organization in several physiologically relevant systems, including cells on engineered curved surfaces, growing human lung alveolospheres, and mouse embryos. Next, I will present our vision for using deep learning to predictively model multicellular developmental processes. I will introduce our recently developed geometric deep-learning method, MultiCell, which can predict single-cell behaviors (neighbor swopping, division, etc.) 30 minutes into the future at single-cell resolution during embryogenesis.Bio:Ming Guo is currently an associate professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, and associated faculty in the MIT Physics of Living Systems Center and Center for Multi-Cellular Engineered Living Systems. His group works on developing tools to characterize and understand cells and tissues as soft active matter. Before joining MIT in 2015, Ming obtained his PhD in 2014 in Applied Physics, and MS in 2012 in Mechanical Engineering at Harvard University. Ming has won numerous awards including Alfred Sloan Fellow in Physics and IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Biological Physics. Ming is an associated editor of the Journal of Biological Physics.

Speaker: Greta Panova (USC)Title: Hook formulas for skew shapes via contour integrals and vertex modelsAbstract: The celebrated hook-length formula (HLF) of Frame-Robinson-Thrall, which gives the dimension of irreducible $S_n$ modules and the number of standard Young tableaux (SYT), has been at the heart of many results from algebraic combinatorics, representation theory and integrable probability. No such closed formula exists for counting SYTs of skew shapes, the closest formula to it (called NHLF) emerged through implicit computations in equivariant Schubert calculus giving a hook-product weighted sum over so-called excited diagrams. Excited diagrams are in bijection with certain lozenge tilings, with flagged semistandard tableaux and also nonintersecting lattice paths inside a Young diagram and the NHLF has seen a variety of applications from weighted lozenge tilings to asymptotics of skew SYTs. We give two self-contained proofs of a multivariate generalization of this formula, which allow us to extend the setup beyond standard Young tableaux and the underlying Schur polynomials. The first proof uses multiple contour integrals. The second one interprets excited diagrams as configurations of a six-vertex model at a free fermion point, and derives the formula for the number of standard Young tableaux of a skew shape from the Yang-Baxter equation.

Speaker: Yu Deng (University of Chicago)Title: The Hilbert sixth problem: particle and wavesAbstract:A major component of the Hilbert sixth problem concerns the derivation of macroscopic equations of motion, and the associated kinetic equations, from microscopic first principles. In the classical setting of Boltzmann's kinetic theory, this corresponds to the derivation of the Boltzmann equation from particle systems governed by Newtonian dynamics; in the theory of wave turbulence, this corresponds to the derivation of the wave kinetic equation from nonlinear dispersive equations.In this talk we present recent joint works with Zaher Hani and Xiao Ma, where we consider the hard sphere model in the particle setting, and the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation in the wave setting. In both cases we derive the corresponding kinetic equation up to arbitrarily long times, as long as the solution to this kinetic equation exists. This is a key step towards the resolution of the Hilbert sixth problem.*Pre-reception held in 2-290 at 3:30pm. Note the exceptional date, time, and location

Join us at our upcoming info session for students, staff and faculty for insightful discussion, community building, and delicious Ukrainian baked goods.The goal of this session is to bring together diverse MIT stakeholders to brainstorm ideas of how we can create more projects supporting Ukraine in these history-defining times. Using the MIT models of UROP, MISTI, and the PKG Center, we are looking to connect the MIT community and our colleagues in Ukraine (working at NGOs, government and business enterprises) through relevant and meaningful projects. We will also provide a brief update on MIT-Ukraine initiatives implemented thus far and talk about internships, courses, and academic exchange opportunities available this academic year.We especially welcome you if youteach and have ideas about projects that students could help you with through UROPs, PKG social impact programs, or MISTI Ukraine Internships;study at MIT and have ideas for projects and would like to involve others through internships, UROPs, projects for courses you are taking, events around campus;work at MIT and want to be involved in projects in specific labs and learning centers;have connections to potential partners in Ukraine with whom we can collaborate.

As part of 2025 Mandala at MIT: Healing the Divide eventSpecial Screening of film "Wisdom of Happiness"WISDOM OF HAPPINESS shows us a timeless truth: happiness is still possible, even in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. This powerful message of hope is delivered as a personal audience with one of the greatest living thinkers, Nobel Peace Prize winner Tenzin Gyatso, known to billions around the world as the Dalai Lama. Speaking as a member of our single global community, he shares practical wisdom for finding peace, compassion, and hope in the midst of chaos. With disarming clarity and deep humanity, he invites us to imagine — and help create — a world where compassion is activated as our strongest force for change, and happiness is within reach for everyone.

Bhagavad Gita Fall Lecture SeriesJoin HG Sadananda Dasa, MIT Vaishnava Hindu Chaplain, for a weekly journey into the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita. Explore profound questions about identity, purpose, karma, yoga, love, and selfless service, and discover practical insights for living a meaningful and spiritually grounded life. Each session combines reflection, discussion, and practical tools for self-realization.RSVP: tinyurl.com/mitgita25