Zoom Link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/99672193351Speaker: Cheng TangAffiliation: Jazayeri lab, 4th year PhD candidate (system neuroscience)Title: An explainable transformer circuit for compositional generalizationAbstract: Compositional generalization—the systematic combination of known elements into novel ensembles— is a hallmark of human cognition, enabling flexible problem-solving beyond rote memorization. While transformer models exhibit surprising proficiency in such tasks (Lake et al., 2023), the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this case study, we reverse-engineer how a transformer achieves compositional generalization at the circuit level, focusing on a function-primitive composition task. In this task, the model infers functions from teaching examples (e.g., interpreting “apple kiki → apple apple” to deduce that “kiki” means double) and generalizes them to new primitives (e.g., applying “kiki” to “tree” to produce “tree tree”). Our trained transformer achieves high test accuracy (~98%), demonstrating robust generalization.In the first half of the presentation, I will introduce the basics of transformer and provide an intuitive account on how attention operations perform information-routing between tokens with a slot-like data structure. Then I will present the human-interpretable algorithm implemented by the model, walk through the circuit discovery procedure, and highlight the correspondence between attention heads and the algorithm’s steps. Lastly, I will show causal perturbation experiments that validates the reverse-engineered circuit. This presentation aims to demystify the black-box impression of transformers to audience in neuroscience and invite discussion between model understanding and model control.

Speakers: Matt Charnley (Rutgers University)Title: Our PerspectiveAbstract: As interest in STEM fields has grown over the last few decades, enrollment in introductory STEM courses has substantially increased, resulting in either larger sections of these classes or more of them. With increased enrollment in these courses, ensuring consistency and quality across multiple sections has become a widespread challenge. Course coordination has been widely implemented as a structured approach to address this issue. In this talk, we will discuss the literature surrounding course coordination, how it works, and what benefits it can bring to courses and departments. I will also share initial results from a survey of course coordinators that I and several of my colleagues sent to coordinators in our STEM departments to get their understanding of their role as course coordinators, opinions on the role, as well as common challenges or great successes that they had.

Whitehead Institute Innovation Intiative Structure and function of the norepinephrine system Presented by Karel Svoboda, Director, Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics12:00 - 1:00 pm Whitehead Institute 455 Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142SCHEDULE 11:30 AM Lunch available - Lobby, 1st floor 12:00 PM Seminar - Audittorium, 1st floor 1:00 PM Dessert and coffee - Library, 2nd floorFor questions, email events@wi.mit.edu.

Want to get exercise mid-day but don’t want to go outside? Join the tunnel walk for a 30-minute walk led by a volunteer through MIT’s famous tunnel system. This walk may include stairs/inclines. Wear comfortable shoes. Free.Location details: Meet in the atrium by the staircase. Location photo below.Tunnel Walk Leaders will have a white flag they will raise at the meeting spot for you to find them.Prize Drawing: Attend a walk and scan a QR code from the walk leaders to be entered into a drawing for a getfit tote bag at the end of the getfit challenge. The more walks you attend, the more entries you get. Winner will be drawn and notified at the end of April. Winner does not need to be a getfit participant.Disclaimer: Tunnel walks are led by volunteers. In the rare occasion when a volunteer isn’t able to make it, we will do our best to notify participants. In the event we are unable to notify participants and a walk leader does not show up, we encourage you to walk as much as you feel comfortable doing so. We recommend checking this calendar just before you head out. [As of Feb 12, this calendar is defaulting to the year 1899. Click "today" to be brought to the current month.]Getfit is a 12-week fitness challenge for the entire MIT community. These tunnel walks are open to the entire MIT community and you do not need to be a current getfit participant to join.

The Stratton Lecture: The Epidemic of LonelinessDate: Tuesday March 4Time: 12:15pm - 1:45pmLocation: MIT Wong Auditorium (E51-115)Join us for the 2025 Stratton Lecture as we delve into the growing epidemic of loneliness in modern society. Despite unprecedented digital connectivity, many individuals feel isolated and disconnected, with profound impacts on mental and physical health. We’ll explore the societal factors contributing to this phenomenon, the consequences for well-being, and strategies to rebuild authentic connections and stronger communities.Keynote Speaker: Professor Rebecca Saxe Remarks by: Professor Pattie Maes Remarks by: Zan BarryDiscussion Moderated by: Amy Brand, Director and Publisher of MIT PressThis event is co-sponsored by the MIT Retirees Association and MIT Press.A boxed lunch will be provided at the end of the event. If you have dietary restrictions, please let us know here.Rebecca Saxe is the John W. Jarve (1978) Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and the Associate Dean of Science at MIT. She studies the development and neural basis of human cognition, focusing on social cognition. Saxe obtained her Ph.D. from MIT and was a Harvard Junior Fellow before joining the MIT faculty in 2006. She has received the Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences, a Guggenheim fellowship, the MIT Committed to Caring Award for graduate mentorship and is a member of American Academy of Arts and Science.Pattie Maes is the Germeshausen Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab where does research at the intersection of Human Computer Interaction and Artificial Intelligence. She is also an affiliated faculty member at MIT's center for Neuro-Biological Engineering. Maes pioneered the concept of Software Agents in the 90s and remains focused on the question of how software systems and novel devices might augment people and assist them with issues such as memory, learning, decision making and wellbeing.Susanna (Zan) Barry, PsyD: Manager of Programs, Community Wellness at MIT Health. Zan focuses on the health of the MIT community through programs and classes in sleep health, stress resilience, mindfulness, motivation, and meaning. Her background is in psychology and behavioral sleep medicine.Moderated by:Amy Brand, director and publisher of the MIT Press, one of the largest university presses in the world, and an important figure in open access publishing. The MIT Press is well known for its publications in emerging fields of scholarship and its pioneering use of technology. Brand’s career spans a wide array of experiences in academia and scholarly communications. She received her doctorate in cognitive science from MIT and has held a number of positions in scholarly communications, publishing, and open information access at MIT, Digital Science, and Harvard before returning to the press in 2015 to serve as director. She was executive producer of the Emmy-nominated documentary Picture a Scientist, a 2020 selection of the Tribeca Film Festival that highlights gender inequality in science. Some of Dr. Brand’s awards include the Laya Wiesner Community Award, the American Association for the Advancement of Science Kavli Science Journalism Gold Award, and the Award for Meritorious Achievement issued by the Council of Science Editors.