MLK Scholars Presentation (Leslie Jonas)This talk focuses on the power of indigenous land management and relationship practices that have taken place for thousands of years. Leslie shares on the importance of traditional ecological knowledge in the preservation of these pristine old growth forests that are home to native ecological systems of insects, plants, trees, winged, finned, and 2 and 4-leggeds and keep all of the natural world in balance, but have been severely damaged by human and industry impact for the past hundreds of years. This presentation leads us beyond land acknowledgments to a more collaborative and rights of nature-based approach to saving our forests, our native woodlands, through an Indigenous lens. Leslie examines our human relationship to trees and nature and our responsibility to help her heal by being and living in relationship, reciprocity and gratitude of all living things.

"Protect or Prepare? Crop Insurance and Adaptation to a Changing Climate" | Marguerite Obolensky (Columbia)

Ten minutes for your mind@2:50 every day at 2:50 pm in multiple time zones:Europa@2:50, EET, Athens, Helsinki (UTC+2) (7:50 am EST) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88298032734Atlantica@2:50, EST, New York, Toronto (UTC-4) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85349851047Pacifica@2:50, PST, Los Angeles, Vancouver (UTC=7) (5:50 pm EST) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85743543699Almost everything works better again if you unplug it for a bit, including your mind. Stop by and unplug. Get the benefits of mindfulness without the fuss.@2:50 meets at the same time every single day for ten minutes of quiet together.No pre-requisite, no registration needed.Visit the website to view all @2:50 time zones each day.at250.org or at250.mit.edu

Talk Title: NeuroAIAbstract: NeuroAI creates synergies between the study of brains and AI based on neural architectures with massively parallel processing units highly connected by weights and trained by learning algorithms. ChatGPT was an overnight success that took 40 years to achieve. Insights from AI may help us better understand cognitive processing in brains.Bio: Sejnowski is the Francis Crick Chair at the Salk Institute and a Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology at UC San Diego. He is a leader in NeuroAI, the recent convergence between neuroscience and AI. He is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, and Inventors. He was awarded the Brain Prize in 2024 and was elected a Fellow the Royal Society in 2025.https://www.hhmi.org/scientists/terrence-j-sejnowskiFollowed by a reception with food and drink in 3rd floor atrium

Title: “Exploring synthetic mechanochemistry”Website: https://www.icredd.hokudai.ac.jp/kubota-koji

Speaker: Tom Bohman (Carnegie Mellon University)Title: Two point concentration of the domination number of the random graphAbstract:We show that the domination number of the binomial random graph G_{n,p} with edge probability p =n^{-\gamma} is concentrated on two values for \gamma < 2/3 and not concentrated on two values for \gamma > 2/3.The main ingredient in the proof is a Poisson type approximation for the probability that a random bipartite graph has no isolated vertices in a regime where standard tools are not available.Joint work with Lutz Warnke and Emily Zhu.