Please note that this is an 11+ workshop.Explore the fascinating world of the human brain in this family workshop. Participants will step into the shoes of a neuroscientist and explore the tools and techniques doctors use to diagnose and study our body's most complex organs.$15 for ages 11-18, $20 for ages 19+

Speaker: Juan Muñoz-Echániz (Stony Brook University)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.

Silvia Goncalves (McGill University)

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.

Got a research-based writing project on the horizon but don’t know how to start? This hands-on, interactive workshop led by Writing and Communication Center lecturer Chris Featherman, PhD, can help. You’ll learn and practice a problem-based approach to discovering, exploring, and focusing a research topic so you can start writing.Complementing these practical and conceptual strategies will be tips for building a strong writing mindset and quieting the anxiety that often accompanies the start of a writing or communication project.

Extreme Equilibria: The Benefits of Correlation | Fedor Sandomirskiy