Speaker: Zihong Chen (MIT)Title: Boundary Dehn twists on symplectic 4-manifold with Seifert-fibered boundaryAbstract: In this talk I will discuss the following result: the boundary Dehn twist on a symplectic filling M of a Seifert-fibered rational homology 3-sphere (negatively-oriented, equipped with its canonical contact structure) has infinite order in the smooth mapping class group of $M$ (fixing the boundary) provided $b^+ (M) > 0$. This result has applications to the monodromy of surface singularities, such as: the monodromy diffeomorphism of a weighted-homogeneous isolated hypersurface singularity of complex dimension 2 has infinite order in the smooth mapping class group of its Milnor fiber, provided the singularity is not ADE. (In turn, the ADE singularities have finite order monodromy by Brieskorn’s Simultaneous Resolution Theorem.)The proof involves studying the Seiberg—Witten equation in 1-parametric families of 4-manifolds, by a combination of techniques from Floer homology, symplectic and contact geometry. I will also explain how to use our techniques to obstruct boundary Dehn twists from factorising as products of Seidel—Dehn twists on Lagrangian 2-spheres and/or their squares, in both the smooth and/or symplectic mapping class groups.This is based on joint work with Hokuto Konno, Jianfeng Lin and Anubhav Mukherjee.

Talk Title: Cognitive tools for making the invisible visibleAbstract: In the 17th century, the Cartesian coordinate system was groundbreaking. It exposed the unity between algebra and geometry, accelerating the development of the math that took humans to the moon. It was not just another concept, but a cognitive tool that people could wield to express abstract ideas in visual form, thereby expanding their capacity to think and generate new insights about a variety of other problems. Research in my lab aims to uncover the psychological mechanisms that explain how humans have come to deploy these technologies in such innovative ways to learn, share knowledge, and create new things. In the first part of this talk, I will provide an overview of our work investigating drawing — one of humanity's most enduring and versatile tools. Across several empirical and computational studies, I’ll argue that drawing not only provides a window into how people perceive and understand the visual world, but also accelerates the ability to learn and communicate useful abstractions. In the second part of this talk, I will preview an emerging line of work in our lab investigating the cognitive foundations of data visualization — one of humanity's more recent inventions for making the invisible visible. I will close by noting the broader implications of embracing the continually expanding suite of cognitive tools for accelerating the development of new technologies for augmenting human intelligence.Bio: Judy Fan is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Research in her lab aims to reverse engineer the human cognitive toolkit, especially how people use physical representations of thought to learn, communicate, and solve problems. Towards this end, her lab employs converging approaches from cognitive science, computational neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. She held a previous faculty appointment at the University of California, San Diego, earned her PhD in Psychology from Princeton University, and received her AB in Neurobiology and Statistics from Harvard College.This talk is co-sponsored by The MIT Quest for Intelligence and the Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines.Webinar Link:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89002014229?pwd=bzZuZGh6cVhOSjJ6TlNZVHgrRnNaQT09Followed by a reception with food and drink in 3rd floor atrium

Recreational swims provide a fun and engaging way for children and parents to practice new skills, stay active, and enjoy quality time together in the pool with the MIT community.No Z Center (MIT Recreation - Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center) membership is required to participate.A parent or caregiver must accompany children in the water. Per Z Center policy, each adult may supervise up to two children at a time.Children must be at least 6 months old to join. If younger, they must be able to hold their head up comfortably. Registration is here. Only for MIT Spouses and Partners Connect members.

A Living Memorial for Malcolm X Presented with the program in Art, Culture, and Technology (ACT) and The Green-Taylor Lectures Part of the MIT Spring 2025 Architecture Lecture Series.This lecture will be held in person in Long Lounge, 7-429 and streamed online.Lectures are free and open to the public. Lectures will be held Thursdays at 6 PM ET in 7-429 (Long Lounge) and streamed online unless otherwise noted. Registration required to attend in-person. Register here or watch the webcast on Youtube.

Veritas Forums are events that ask life's big questions and put the Christian faith in dialogue with other worldviews. This year, we will be joined by Professor Kate Brown (MIT), Professor Norman Wirzba (Duke University), and Professor Troy Van Voorhis (MIT) in a discussion about the significance of hope in the face of the climate crisis, and how the beliefs we hold impact the way we approach climate change.This event will take place at 7 pm on Thursday, March 20th in the Kirsch Auditorium (32-123) in Stata Centre. Enjoy dinner and Insomnia Cookies over discussions which will be hosted after the forum!