Speaker: Mikhail Sodin (Tel Aviv University)Title: A curious Lagrange-Ivanov-Yomdin-type lemmaAbstract: Suppose 𝑓 is an 𝑚-smooth function on the unit ball that is small (for instance, vanishes) on an epsilon-net 𝐸 for a sufficiently small epsilon. Then the maximum of 𝑓 is controlled by the 𝐿1- norm of its 𝑚 − 𝑡ℎ derivative and its uniform norm on 𝐸. This estimate is dimensionless. The proof is not long and uses only undergraduate analysis.The talk is based on an ongoing joint work with Aleksei Kulikov and Fedor Nazarov on multi-dimensional Fourier uniqueness.

Alex Carrasco Martinez (MIT)

As the James G. Boswell Professor of Neuroscience and the PI of the Andersen Lab at CalTech, Prof. Richard Andersen researches visual physiology, specifically translational research to humans in the field of neuroprosthetics, brain-computer interfaces, and cortical repair. The Andersen Lab examines decision-making, stages in motor planning, sensory-guided movements and motion perception.Title: From Thought to Movement: Helping Paralyzed People with Brain-Machine InterfacesAbstract: Tetraplegia, the loss of movement and feeling in all four limbs, can result from spinal cord injuries at the level of the neck. Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) can help people with tetraplegia by allowing them to control assistive devices with their thoughts. A BMI consists of arrays of tiny electrodes that can record the activity of large numbers of cortical neurons and provide electrical stimulation to restore the sense of touch. The Andersen Lab has implanted arrays in a variety of specialized cortical areas rather than just the motor cortex. Using this approach, we can explore the science of how these areas process sensory and motor information and apply that knowledge to developing neural prosthetics. The lab has found that small patches of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), a sensorimotor association cortical area, encodes preconsciously the intended actions of all parts of the body. Among its more sensory and cognitive functions, PPC encodes the awareness of touch, internal speech, and the observation of others. Lastly, Prof. Andersen will show a neural prosthetic application in which bimanual brain control is used in a real environment in which a participant drives a commercial vehicle.

Speaker: David Roberts (University of Minnesota, Morris)Title: Wild Ramification in Hypergeometric MotivesAbstract:The bulk of my talk will be an overview of the current state of knowledge of wild ramification in general hypergeometric motives at a fixed prime $p$. The presentation will be as elementary and visual as possible, using p-adic ordinals of field discriminants of trinomials $x^n - n t x + (n-1) t$ and their underlying Galois theory as a continuing example. It will be revealed that the general situation is very complicated, but exhibits enough patterns that one can still reasonably hope for a universal formula identifying all numerical invariants of wild p-adic ramification in all hypergeometric motives.If one restricts to the case where $\operatorname{ord}_p(t)$ is coprime to $p$ then the situation simplifies considerably. The ramp conjecture of Section 13 of my survey on Hypergeometric Motives with Fernando Rodriguez Villegas predicts conductor exponents. I will conclude with a new refinement of the ramp conjecture that predicts, via Feynman-like diagrams, how the conductor exponents decompose as a sum of slopes. The refinement reveals much more structure than the original ramp conjecture, and I hope will point the way to a proof.

Mastering Change: Lessons from Berklee, iZotope, and The Studio Reflections on how sound, tools, and aesthetics evolve.Mastering Change: Lessons from Berklee, iZotope, and The Studio. Reflections on how sound, tools, and aesthetics evolve - and what remains timeless.What persists across decades of change in music and technology? What truths, pitfalls, and recurring mistakes keep showing up? Drawing on a lifetime at the crossroads of music and technology—as a producer and mastering engineer, an educator at Berklee, and a collaborator with developers and product designers—I’ll share observations about music, perception, and human behavior. Through stories and examples, this talk highlights enduring lessons that can help us navigate and shape the future of our craft.Speaker Bio: Jonathan Wyner is Chief Engineer at M Works Studios in Somerville, MA, Professor of Music Production and Engineering at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Past President of the Audio Engineering Society, former Education Director for iZotope and currently an advisor at Suno.He combines a focus on production, engineering and education with experience as a product design consultant. How work includes leveraging technology and product innovations to create engaging experiences to creative and technical users.A producer, engineer, musician and performer, he's mastered and produced thousands of recordings during the last 35 years. Credits include Jean-Claude Risset, James Taylor, David Bowie, Aerosmith, Kiri Te Kanawa, Aimee Mann, London Symphony, Miles Davis, Semisonic, Thelonius Monk, Pink Floyd, Cream, Bruce Springsteen and Nirvana.He has several accolades, including production of the Grammy Nominated soundtrack for PBS special Invention and Alchemy (Deborah Henson-Conant, 2005), the mastering of the first recording of a full length opera (Madame Butterfly 1912, BBC), and the first interactive CD game (Play it By Ear, Rykodisc). In 2012 he authored the text 'Audio Mastering: Essential Practices' published by Hal Leonard/Berklee Press along with undergraduate and graduate courses for Berkleemusic Online.He remembers very clearly, the time before the look ahead limiter/compressor changed the sound of produced musicFree and Open to the PublicRoom 4-237 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 182 Memorial Drive Rear Cambridge, MA 02139https://whereis.mit.edu/?go=4

Get outside and play! Bananagrams, Connect Four, Hopscotch, Scrabble, Corn Hole, and more.Choose from a fun and varied selection of board games and lawn games, all free to borrow during your visit. Plenty of options available for adults, kids, small groups and pairs.Picnics, dogs, and groups are welcome! Just make sure to follow our guidelines.Free and open to all! Please note that this event is weather dependent.Special Play+ events in this series:7/22 - Free ice cream sandwiches while supplies last! 🍦7/29 - Rescheduled8/5 - The theme this week is Board Games!8/19 and 9/2 - Free lemonade while supplies last! 🍋10/14 Pet Rock Painting