A celebration of creativity and community at MITArtfinity is a new festival of the arts at MIT featuring 80 free performing and visual arts events, celebrating creativity and community at the Institute. Artfinity launches with the opening of the new Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building on February 15, 2025, continues with a concentration of events February 28-March 16, and culminates with the Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts public lecture by 2025 recipient artist and designer Es Devlin on May 1, 2025, and a concert by Grammy-winning rapper and Visiting Professor Lupe Fiasco on May 2, 2025. Artfinity embodies MIT’s commitment to creativity, community, and the intersection of art, science and technology. We invite you to join us in this celebration, explore the diverse events, and experience the innovative spirit that defines the arts at MIT.About the Artists Artfinity features the innovative work of MIT faculty, students, staff, and alumni, alongside guest artists from the Greater Boston area and beyond.About the Activities & Events All 80 events are open to the public, including dozens of concerts and performances plus an array of visual arts such as projections, films, installations, exhibitions, and augmented reality experiences, as well as lectures and workshops for attendees to participate in. With a wide range of visual and performing arts events open to all, Artfinity embodies MIT’s commitment to the arts and the intersection of art, science, and technology.About the Presenters Artfinity is an institute-sponsored event organized by the Office of the Arts at MIT with faculty leads Institute Professor of Music Marcus Thompson and Professor of Art, Culture and Technology Azra Akšamija. Departments, labs, centers, and student groups across MIT are presenting partners.Visit arts.mit.edu for more information about the arts at MIT.

Stop by before you start your day to grab a coffee or tea and a breakfast treat! Connect with old friends, meet new ones, and let's talk about the kind of events you'd like to see from the WL this semester.Please RSVP so we know how much coffee to brew!

February 26, 2025 - July 17, 2025Hidden within MIT’s Distinctive Collections, many architectural elements from the earliest days of the Institute’s architecture program still survive as part of the Rotch Art Collection. Among the artworks that conservators salvaged was a set of striking windows of gypsum and stained-glass, dating to the late 18th- to 19th c. Ottoman Empire. This exhibition illuminates the life of these historic windows, tracing their refracted histories from Egypt to MIT, their ongoing conservation, and the cutting-edge research they still prompt.The Maihaugen Gallery (14N-130) is open Monday through Thursday, 10am - 4pm, excluding Institute holidays.

Do you have data? (Who doesn't?!?) Learn about the five basic things you can do now to manage your data for future happiness. These tools and techniques support practical data management and you can start using them immediately. Work with your personal data or research data, but start working now to ensure a future you who is secure in the existence, understandability, and reusability of your data! This short workshop will be over Zoom and the link will be emailed to attendees.

Zoom Link: TBA --------- Speaker: Gasser ElbannaAffiliation: McDermott LabTitle: TBAAbstract: TBA--------- Speaker: Michaela SocolofAffiliation: Roger Levy LabTitle: TBAAbstract: TBA

Zoom link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/91279678580 ----- Speaker: Michaela SocolofAffiliation: CPL / Levy LabTitle: An information-theoretic approach to compositionalityAbstract: A fundamental property of language is that words can be combined into larger phrases in systematic and predictable ways. This property, known as compositionality, allows language users to produce novel, complex utterances using set rules. Yet compositionality is not absolute—some structures involve meanings that combine in non-systematic ways. If we have a way of precisely quantifying compositionality, then we can investigate the relationships between compositionality, linguistic structure, and processing. This talk will present an approach to formalizing compositionality using information theory and will include a discussion of completed and potential future experiments.

Do you feel the freedom to offer – or, if you are in leadership, to receive – genuine values-based feedback about how well your DLCI is living up to its stated mission? Join us for this collaborative staff workshop in which we respond to this question with insights from Dr. Mary Gentile’s Giving Voice to Values ® curriculum.Register to secure your meal.

Speakers: James McClure (Purdue University)Title: Making linear algebra student-friendly by re-ordering the topics and adapting the toneAbstract: Linear Algebra is often an obstacle for students whose only prior experience is with calculus. I discuss a textbook I'm writing that takes a very different approach from existing textbooks. The target audience is ordinary students, not honors students. A key organizing principle is for the course to have a narrative arc, with near term and longer-term goals pointing the way forward at each stage. The arc for the first part of the course focuses on diagonalization, first for the 2 x 2 case, and then using the n x n case as motivation for concepts like linear independence. Another important organizing principle is to introduce a concept only when it is necessary for the arc—for example, the transpose of a matrix isn't introduced until chapter 18—and then to give the students an intensive experience of using the concept. Proofs are a basic part of the course, and most homework problems are proofs; however, the usual emphasis on formal language is avoided (set theoretic language isn't used until chapter 16 and quantifiers are never used) without loss of mathematical correctness. The approach is both student-friendly and mathematically rich.Zoom link: https://cornell.zoom.us/j/92415199317Zoom Link Password: olsumeFor more information on OLSUME: https://olsume.org/

Have some fun(nel) on a tunnel or sun(nel) walk! Join us for a 30-minute volunteer-led walk either through MIT’s famous tunnel system or around Killian Court. As the weather gets warmer, walk leaders may choose to take the group outside. Is the weather warm and you missed the start? Find the group on Killian Court and join in!Location details: Meet in the lobby with the big mirror, right inside the Collier Memorial entrance to Stata. Location photo below.Sun(nel) Walk Leaders will identify themselves by holding a white flag at the meeting location.Prize Drawing: Attend a walk and scan a QR code from the walk leaders to be entered into a drawing for a getfit canvas boat tote bag at the end of the getfit challenge. The more walks you attend, the more entries you get. Winner will be drawn and notified at the end of April. Winner does not need to be a getfit participant.Disclaimer: These walks are led by volunteers. In the rare occasion when a volunteer isn’t able to make it, we will do our best to notify participants. In the event we are unable to notify participants and a walk leader does not show up, we encourage you to walk as much as you feel comfortable doing so. We recommend checking this calendar just before you head out!Getfit is a 12-week fitness challenge for the entire MIT community. These walks are open to the entire MIT community and you do not need to be a current getfit participant to join.

We are living in a time of unprecedented crisis and breakdown. But amid the chaos, small "islands of coherence" are emerging—localized pockets where change makers are taking action and begin to catalyze multi-system transformation. In this talk Katrin asks: what would it take to allow existing regenerative practices to become mainstream.Based on her upcoming book co-authored with Otto Scharmer: Presencing: Seven Practices for the Transformation of Self, Society and Business, Katrin will introduce a framework and practices for system transformation. In this book the authors argue that while we see ourselves faced with a polycrisis across different sectors - from agriculture, to education, to health care, to business, technology and to governance, these challenges might share the same root causes. In other words: while most innovators and leaders think about their sector in terms of unique conditions, the actual transformation challenge, might be more cross-cutting and require an upgrade of the underlying operating system.This book is based on her work with a global NGO that leads system transformation initiatives across sectors and regions.

MIT Free English Class is for international students, sholars, spouses. Twenty seven years ago we created a community to welcome the nations to MIT and assist with language and friendship. Join our Tuesday/Thursday conversation classes around tables inside W11-190.

Have some fun(nel) on a tunnel or sun(nel) walk! Join us for a 30-minute volunteer-led walk either through MIT’s famous tunnel system or around Killian Court. As the weather gets warmer, walk leaders may choose to take the group outside. Is the weather warm and you missed the start? Find the group on Killian Court and join in!Sun(nel) Walk Leaders will identify themselves by holding a white flag at the meeting location.Location details: Meet in the atrium by the staircase. [See image below]Prize Drawing: Attend a walk and scan a QR code from the walk leaders to be entered into a drawing for a getfit canvas boat tote bag at the end of the getfit challenge. The more walks you attend, the more entries you get. Winner will be drawn and notified at the end of April. Winner does not need to be a getfit participant.Disclaimer: Tunnel walks are led by volunteers. In the rare occasion when a volunteer isn’t able to make it, we will do our best to notify participants. In the event we are unable to notify participants and a walk leader does not show up, we encourage you to walk as much as you feel comfortable doing so. We recommend checking this calendar just before you head out.Getfit is a 12-week fitness challenge for the entire MIT community. These tunnel walks are open to the entire MIT community and you do not need to be a current getfit participant to join.

In this MSE Seminar, UC Berkeley’s Zakaria Al Balushi will present a scalable method for integrating two-dimensional semiconductors, such as molybdenum disulfide, into functional devices. Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), are emerging as key materials for next-generation electronics, addressing challenges in the miniaturization of silicon-based technologies. Despite progress in scaling-up 2D materials, integrating them into functional devices remains challenging, particularly in the context of three-dimensional integration. This talk will present a scalable method for growing high-quality mono- to few-layer MoS2 on large wafers using a spin-on precursor, molybdenum ethyl xanthate.

Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2025 Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Location: Seminar Room 3310Title: Respiration coordinates odor coding in the piriform cortex: toward a logic of cortical odor codingAbstract: Most animals rely on olfaction to locate food, attract mates, and avoid predators. Odor information is initially encoded in the olfactory bulb (OB) as sequences of activated glomeruli and then relayed to the piriform cortex (PCx), where distinct, distributed ensembles of neurons represent odors. However, the principles governing this transformation remain unclear. Here, using both odor- and optogenetically-evoked OB inputs, we show that PCx neurons are tuned to specific respiration phases, gated by their intrinsic phase preferences. While OB inputs exhibit weak, inhalation-biased phase tuning, PCx circuits refine this signal: feedforward inhibition sharpens tuning, and intracortical processing redistributes it across the sniff cycle. Our findings suggest that PCx neurons form distinct modules, each selective for a particular respiration phase. This coding strategy integrates dominant odor components from early OB inputs with more nuanced details arriving later, constructing a richer and more detailed odor representation. Furthermore, the neural circuit mechanisms for phase-to-rate coding in PCx provide a framework for understanding how temporal structure is processed across sensory and cognitive systems.Bio: Kevin Franks was born in South Africa in the 1970s, moved to Canada in his teens, and then to California for graduate school. He is not, however, a fascist or a billionaire. He earned his Ph.D. at UCSD with Terry Sejnowski, focusing on simulations of synaptic transmission. In his postdoc work, first with Jeffry Isaacson at UCSD, and then with Richard Axel and Steve Siegelbam at Columbia, he studied the synaptic organization of the piriform cortex. This work provided the foundation for his current research into the mechanisms underlying cortical coding. In 2013, he established his lab at Duke University, where he is now an Associate Professor. His research uses the mouse olfactory system to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying sensory perception and cortical computation.

Join us for a rejuvenating 30-minute meditation session led by an experienced Buddhist monk.This weekly session is open to the MIT community and offers a peaceful break to manage stress, ease frustration, and enhance focus. By practicing mindfulness meditation, you'll not only boost your compassion, energy, and productivity but also connect with like-minded peers who share a passion for mental wellness. Sessions feature light meditation guidance and time for silent practice.Whether you're new to meditation or an experienced practitioner, this session provides a supportive space to cultivate inner peace and resilience. Don't miss this opportunity to recharge and foster a mindful community.

Title: Dual Pairs and Disconnected Reductive GroupsSpeaker: Marisa GaetzZoom Link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/99020638421

Speaker: Niven AchenjangTitle: The Average Size of 2-Selmer Groups of Elliptic Curves in Characteristic 2Zoom Link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/96646700269?pwd=ST8VE7YDozKVY3AMUBR7pw9dkMFoTo.1

"Getting the Picture" | Robby Akerlof (Warwick)

Speaker: Adel Djellouli (Harvard)Title: Shell buckling for programmable metafluidsAbstract:The pursuit of materials with enhanced functionality has led to the emergence of metamaterials—artificially engineered materials whose properties are determined by their structure rather than composition. Traditionally, the building blocks of metamaterials are arranged in fixed positions within a lattice structure. However, recent research has revealed the potential of mixing disconnected building blocks in a fluidic medium. Inspired by these recent advances, here we show that by mixing highly deformable spherical capsules into an incompressible fluid, we can realize a ‘metafluid’ with programmable compressibility, optical behaviour and viscosity. First, we experimentally and numerically demonstrate that the buckling of the shells endows the fluid with a highly nonlinear behaviour. Subsequently, we harness this behaviour to develop smart robotic systems, highly tunable logic gates and optical elements with switchable characteristics. Finally, we demonstrate that the collapse of the shells upon buckling leads to a large increase in the suspension viscosity in the laminar regime. As such, the proposed metafluid provides a promising platform for enhancing the functionality of existing fluidic devices by expanding the capabilities of the fluid itself.

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