Speaker: Yasuyuki Kawahigashi (University of Tokyo)Title: Modular invariance as completenessAbstract: We discuss the physical meaning of modular invariance for two-dimensional unitary conformal quantum field theories. For QFT models, while T invariance is necessary for locality, S invariance is not mandatory. The S invariance is a form of completeness of the theory that has a precise meaning as Haag duality for arbitrary multi-interval regions. We present a mathematical proof and its physical interpretation. For rational CFT's, the failure of modular invariance or Haag duality can be measured by an index, related to the quantum dimensions of the model. We show how to compute this index from the modular transformation matrices. This is a joint work with V. Benedetti, H. Casini, R. Longo, and J. M. Magan.Zoom: https://mit.zoom.us/j/93615455445. For the Passcode, please contact Pavel Etingof at etingof@math.mit.edu.

Mastering complexity at reacting electrode interfaces: from better batteries to high-performance CO2 capture-conversionBetar M. Gallant Kendall Rohsenow Associate ProfessorReactive interfaces are an inherent part of many key electrochemical decarbonization technologies and underpin their distinctive functions, from enabling the reversible cycling of unstable electrode materials in next-generation batteries to fine-tuning product selectivity in electrocatalytic reactions. In this talk, I will explore two examples that highlight how an unruly electrochemical interface—and the resulting device performance—can be powerfully modulated through the design of advanced electrolytes.First, I will discuss our efforts to identify quantitative, universal design descriptors of the lithium (Li) metal anode solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), which sensitively governs the Li Coulombic efficiency (CE), across diverse electrolyte classes and describe how these insights are unlocking new, high-performance electrolyte design strategies.Second, I will highlight our development of conversion processes that reduce CO₂ directly from the captured (liquid sorbent-bound) state, where selectivity for desired reduction products depends exquisitely on competition among multiple reactants at the electrode interface. Once revealed, this competition can be exploited to powerfully alter reaction outcomes.Bio: Betar M. Gallant obtained her SB (’08), SM (’10), and PhD (’13) degrees from the MIT MechE department, following which she was a Kavli Nanoscience Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at Caltech in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Her research group focuses on advanced chemistries and materials for high-energy primary and rechargeable batteries, including fluorinated cathode conversion reactions and lithium, sodium, and calcium metal anodes and their interfaces. Her group is also leading research into electrochemical CO2 capture including its integration with direct electrochemical conversion. She is the recipient of multiple awards including an Army Research Office Young Investigator Award, the NSF CAREER Award, The Electrochemical Society (ECS) Battery Division Early Career Award, an ECS-Toyota Young Investigator Award, the ACS Energy & Fuels Division Glenn Award, the ECS Charles W. Tobias Young Investigator Award, the MIT Faculty Founders $100k Breakthrough Prize, ACS Energy & Fuels Rising Star award, and the Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Distinguished Teaching at MIT. She is a co-founder of HaloGen Power, which is commercializing the highest-energy lithium primary battery to be brought to market based on chemistry developed in her group. Prof. Gallant is the Faculty Director for the MIT-GE Vernova Energy and Climate Alliance and also serves as the Energy Storage flagship lead for the Tata-MIT Alliance.

Join us in song! Come sing with the Concert Choir - Music will be provided for all!Lobby 10 "Memorial Lobby"Conducted by Ryan Turner.ABOUT MIT CONCERT CHOIRThe MIT Concert Choir, directed by Ryan Turner, is a large choral group open by audition to both graduate and undergraduate students, and to members of the MIT community. The Concert Choir is a social, academic and musical ensemble in which students learn and perform major works from the standard repertoire, as well as selected shorter and lesser-known pieces. Rehearsals culminate in a public performance each semester that is often accompanied by a professional orchestra and soloists. When appropriate, student soloists are also featured. You can find a more detailed history of MIT's Concert Choir here.

MIT Origins club invites you to the festival of lights - Deepotsava. Join us to be a part of an enlivening evening filled with kirtans, Indian classical music & dance, offering lamps, special talk & delicious dinner prasadam.Date & Time: 6:00 pm, Fri, Oct 24, 2025 Venue: 32 - 124, MIT

Join us for a conversation between Syrian-Armenian-American storyteller and Hakawati founder Sona Tatoyan and Lebanese-Armenian-Canadian-American Entrepreneur and Moderna Co-Founder Noubar Afeyan, two visionary Armenian diaspora leaders bound by heritage and a shared mission to heal the world: one through art and the other through science. Hear how they turned their genocidal legacies and experience with oppressive regimes into triumphant acts of resilience, creativity, and healing. Learn how they innovate and iterate to create groundbreaking work in the arts and sciences. How does storytelling heal societal wounds? Can scientific leaps mirror artistic epiphanies and vice versa? How do their legacies inform their work and mission? What advice do they have for scientists and artists working in today’s climate? They will discuss these questions and more.Moderated by Professor Lerna Ekmekcioglu.📅 Friday, October 24, 6-7:30 PM📍 MIT Museum, 314 Main Street, Lee Family Exchange Space, Cambridge, MA 02142This event is generously supported by the MIT Program in Art, Culture, and Technology and Radius.

Food before and after. Screening to start at 7pm.In Search of Bengali Harlem Watch the Trailer Documentary | 84 Minutes | USA | English/Bengali Directed by Vivek Bald and Alaudin Ullah Produced by Susannah Ludwig, Vivek Bald, Alaudin Ullah Edited by Beyza BoyaciogluWith music by: Vijay Iyer, Zakir Hussain, Ganavya, Imani Uzuri, Yosvany Terry, and Anik KhanFree and Open to the PublicPlease join us for a screening of Vivek Bald’s award-winning feature documentary In Search of Bengali Harlem, followed by a discussion with Prof. Bald and the film’s Editor and Co-Writer, Beyza Boyacioglu (MSc, MIT Comparative Media Studies, 2019), led and moderated by students and members of Cambridge/Boston’s South Asian communities. The event is made possible by the MIT Human Insight Collaborative (MITHIC) and is in collaboration with community partner SubDrift Boston. It is sponsored by the departments of Comparative Media Studies/Writing and Art, Culture, and Technology, with additional support from the Asian American Initiative and the South Asian Association of Students.As a teen in 1980s New York, Alaudin Ullah was swept up by the revolutionary energy of hip-hop. He rebelled against his Muslim immigrant parents and rejected his Bangladeshi roots. Now an actor and playwright navigating post-9/11 Islamophobia, he embarks on a journey to tell the stories of the parents he never truly knew. IN SEARCH OF BENGALI HARLEM follows Alaudin on this profound quest from the tenements of mid-20th-century Harlem to the villages of present-day Bangladesh, revealing the lost, intertwined histories of South Asian Muslims, African Americans, and Puerto Ricans and the challenges and necessity of inter-generational healing.“In Search of Bengali Harlem is remarkable in the way it tells the decades-long story of the Bengali community’s integration in Harlem, and the way Black and Brown people found each other, peeling back layer after deeply personal layer of one subject’s life. With a charismatic lead and beautiful musical accompaniment, this film provides a unique perspective of the immigrant experience and honors the singular place New York City has held throughout America’s history.” – Juror’s Statement, DOC NYC 2022, Metropolis Competition.