Join Us for an Effects Potluck @ the Voxel Lab!Calling all sonic explorers! Bring your instruments, pedals, synths, and any noise-making gear to our Effects Potluck—an evening of sound experimentation, creative play, and unexpected collaborations. Whether you're a pedal hoarder, a modular synth wizard, or just curious about sonic mayhem, this is your chance to plug in, tweak, and explore in a fun, open-ended jam session.No rules, no setlist—just a table full of effects and an open floor for creativity. Come make some noise!Thursday, March 6th, 5:30pm The Voxel Lab, E38-391Bring a gadget, bring a friend, and let's jam! RSVP HERE

Iyengar yoga is Hatha yoga as taught by BKS Iyengar and develops strength, coordination, and flexibility of the body and mind. Participants learn how to use their embodiment as an anchor - a way to find peace and inner strength during busy and difficult times.Every class is different with a unique sequence based on the theme of the class and the needs of the students. Using physical alignment as a starting point, Iyengar yoga encourages the spread of intelligence throughout the body, the growth of self awareness and asana as a form of meditation.As a Certified Iyengar Teacher (CIYT) who has studied with renown teachers Patricia Walden and Jarvis Chen for over 16 years, Ashley uses individual pose modifications, props, and hands-on adjustments to support participants of all body types, ages and abilities.Iyengar yoga is truly for everyone - stiff bodies welcome!Registration is required on our wellness class website. If you do not already have an account on this website, you'll need to create one. This is fee-based class and open to the entire MIT community.

The MIT wrestling club holds practices in the du Pont Wrestling Room on weeknights 5:30-7pm. All levels of experience welcome! Whether you're looking to learn how to grapple or just want to get in a good workout, wrestling practice is a good time to learn technique, get in some live goes, and have fun with a great group of people.Current schedule is: structured practice MTRF, open mats W, and technique sessions 9-10:30am on Saturday. For more information, contact wrestling-officers@mit.edu.

"All We Imagine As Light" Film ScreeningFollowed by a Q&A w/ special guests March 6th @ 6pm | Bartos Theatre MIT *Doors open at 5:30pm RSVPCentering on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital—head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha)—and a newly retired coworker Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), Kapadia’s film alights on prosaic moments of connection and heartache, hope and disappointment. Prabha, her husband from an arranged marriage living in faraway Germany, is pursued by a courtly doctor; Anu carries on a romance with a Muslim man, which she must keep a secret from her Hindu family; Parvaty finds herself dealing with a sudden eviction from her apartment. Kapadia captures the bustle of the metropolis and the open-air tranquility of a seaside resort with equal radiance, articulated by her superb actors with an unforced expressivity and by the camera with a lyrical naturalism that occasionally drifts into dreamlike incandescence. More info

Are you considering 1 or more gap years before medical school but not sure if this is the right choice for you or what opportunities are available? Come to this panel to hear from MIT alumni/current medical students about their reasons for taking one or more gap years, the experiences they pursued during their gap year(s), how they found those experiences, and more!This CAPD event is open to MIT undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and alumni.

Rebecca Choi Presented with the HTC Forum 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.

Boston Chapter of IEEE Computer Society and GBC/ACM7:00 PM, Thursday, 6 March 2025MIT Room 32-G449 (Kiva) and online via ZoomHow Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) let governments and business share sensitive data while protecting privacySimson GarfinkelPlease register in advance for this seminar even if you plan to attend in person athttps://acm-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/6917379974134/WN_jwgTYmklQSu6Thc23XOMtQAfter registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.Indicate on the registration form if you plan to attend in person. This will help us determine whether the room is close to reaching capacity. We plan to serve light refreshments (probably pizza) before the talk startimng at around 6:30 pm. Letting us know you will come in person will help us determine how much pizza to order.We may make some auxiliary material such as slides and access to the recording available after the seminar to people who have registered.Abstract:Tax returns and financial filings, health records, education records, and crime data are just some of detailed and highly sensitive data that governments have about people.Businesses also have huge archives of sensitive data, including consumer purchases, cellphone mobility traces, and video surveillance. Today a tiny fraction of these data are released as “open data” or sold as “de-identified data.” The rest are locked up, unable to benefit society or promote new economic activity. Worse, much of that allegedly de-identified data can actually be re-identified, as happened when journalists at The Pillar used de-identified data to identify Catholic priests who were going to gay bars and using hookup apps.Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) use advanced mathematics and computational techniques to let organizations analyze and publish sensitive data while protecting the privacy of individuals and sensitive data from organizations. These techniques have existed for decades and are increasingly being deployed by governments and businesses. PETs are not without controversy. When the US Census Bureau adopted a PET called “differential privacy” for the 2020 Census, more than 4000 academics signed an open letter voicing their opposition: they were concerned that differential privacy would do such a good job protecting privacy that the resulting data would be useless for academic research.This talk presents the case for PETs, explains popular PETs for a non-technical audience, and discusses the specific controversy of deploying differential privacy for the 2020 US Census.This is discussed in more detail in his latest book Differential Privacy .Bio:Simson Garfinkel is the Chief Scientist and Chief Operating Officer of BasisTech in Somerville, Massachusetts. He was previously a program scientist at AI2050, part of Schmidt Futures. He has held several roles across government, including a Senior Data Scientist at the Department of Homeland Security, the US Census Bureau's Senior Computer Scientist for Confidentiality and Data Access and a computer scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. From 2006 to 2015, he was an associate professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. In addition to his research, Garfinkel is a journalist, an entrepreneur and an inventor; his work is generally concerned with computer security, privacy and information technology.Simson is the author or co-author of 16 books, and the author of more than a thousand articles. He is a contributing writer for Technology Review and has written as a freelancer for many publications including Wired magazine, The Boston Globe, Privacy Journal, and CSO Magazine. His work for CSO Magazine earned him five regional and national journalism awards, including the Jesse H. Neal Business Journalism Awards in 2003 and 2004. He is also the editor of The Forensics Wiki.Directions to 32-G449 - MIT Stata Center, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA: Please use the main entrance to the Stata Center at 32 Vassar Street (the entrance closest to Main street) as those doors will be unlocked. Upon entering, proceed to the elevators which will be on the right after passing a large set of stairs and a MITAC kiosk. Take the elevator to 4th floor and turn right, following the hall to an open area; 32-G449 will be on the left. Location of Stata on campus mapThis joint meeting of the Boston Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society and GBC/ACM will be hybrid (in person and online).Up-to-date information about this and other talks is available online at https://ewh.ieee.org/r1/boston/computer/. You can sign up to receive updated status information about this talk and informational emails about future talks at https://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/ieee-cs, our self-administered mailing list.

The “doom-and-gloom” of dominant climate change narratives contributes to climate despair and passivity. Is there a better way to face our very real climate challenges?Join us as we discuss how centering cherished places and values offers a path to reframe climate discourse and promote a positive vision that lays the groundwork for sustained and targeted action.Register

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.

Time: 7:00 PMLocation: Cambridge, MA

Writing Together Online offers structured time to help you spring into writing and stay focused this semester. We offer writing sessions every workday, Monday through Friday. Join our daily 90-minute writing sessions and become part of a community of scholars who connect online, set realistic goals, and write together in the spirit of accountability and camaraderie. The program is open to all MIT students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and affiliates who are working on papers, proposals, thesis/dissertation chapters, application materials, and other writing projects. For more information and to register, go to this link or check the WCC website. Please spread the word and join with colleagues and friends.Register for Spring 2025 Writing Challenge 1Choose those sessions that you want to attend during Challenge 1: February 10th through March 21stMondays 9:00–10:30amTuesdays 8–9:30am and 9:30–11amWednesdays 9:00–10:30amThursdays 8–9:30am and 9:30–11amFridays 8–9:30am and 9:30–11amMIT Students and postdocs who attend at least 5 sessions per challenge will be entered into a raffle of three $25 Amazon gift cards. The raffle will take place on Friday, March 21st. The more you participate, the more times you will be entered into the raffle of prizes.For more information and to register, check the WCC website. Please spread the word and join with peers and friends.The funding support for this program comes from the Office of Graduate Education

Writing Together Online offers structured time to help you spring into writing and stay focused this semester. We offer writing sessions every workday, Monday through Friday. Join our daily 90-minute writing sessions and become part of a community of scholars who connect online, set realistic goals, and write together in the spirit of accountability and camaraderie. The program is open to all MIT students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and affiliates who are working on papers, proposals, thesis/dissertation chapters, application materials, and other writing projects. For more information and to register, go to this link or check the WCC website. Please spread the word and join with colleagues and friends.Register for Spring 2025 Writing Challenge 1Choose those sessions that you want to attend during Challenge 1: February 10th through March 21stMondays 9:00–10:30amTuesdays 8–9:30am and 9:30–11amWednesdays 9:00–10:30amThursdays 8–9:30am and 9:30–11amFridays 8–9:30am and 9:30–11amMIT Students and postdocs who attend at least 5 sessions per challenge will be entered into a raffle of three $25 Amazon gift cards. The raffle will take place on Friday, March 21st. The more you participate, the more times you will be entered into the raffle of prizes.For more information and to register, check the WCC website. Please spread the word and join with peers and friends.The funding support for this program comes from the Office of Graduate Education

Sun Ra, Parliament-Funkadelic, George Clinton, Erykah Badu, Octavia E. Butler, Digable Planets, Janelle Monae, Flying Lotus, Grace Jones, Missy Elliott, and moreA new exhibit in Lewis Music Library celebrates the visionary contributions of Afrofuturist artists across various genres and mediums. From the cosmic jazz of Sun Ra and the psychedelic funk of Parliament-Funkadelic and George Clinton, to the neo-soul of Erykah Badu and the sci-fi narratives of Octavia E. Butler, these artists have pushed the boundaries of creativity and imagination.This event is presented as part of Artfinity: A celebration of creativity and community at MIT.

Chemistry Student Seminar (CSS) is a student-organized seminar series that host graduate students and postdocs to share their research in a friendly and informal environment. Free donuts and coffee are provided.

All sessions will take place on Zoom until March 7.On February 28, we’ll have a discussion "Black History Month."On March 7, we’ll be discussing "AI."Meet other MS&PC members from all over the world, get resources and information about life at MIT/Cambridge/Boston, exchange ideas, and engage in cultural conversations in a friendly and casual environment, while working on English fluency.Please email ecgatmit@gmail.com for more information.

Time: 10:30 AMLocation: Boston, MA / The TRACK at New Balance

Speaker: Krishna Balasubramanian (University of California – Davis)Title: Finite-Particle Convergence Rates for Stein Variational Gradient DescentAbstract: Stein Variational Gradient Descent (SVGD) is a deterministic, interacting particle-based algorithm for nonparametric variational inference, yet its theoretical properties remain challenging to fully understand. This talk presents two complementary perspectives on SVGD. First, we introduce Gaussian-SVGD, a framework that projects SVGD onto the family of Gaussian distributions using a bilinear kernel. We establish rigorous convergence results for both mean-field dynamics and finite-particle systems, proving linear convergence to equilibrium in strongly log-concave settings. This framework also unifies recent algorithms for Gaussian Variational Inference (GVI) under a single theoretical lens. Second, we examine the finiteparticle convergence rates of nonparametric SVGD in Kernelized Stein Discrepancy (KSD) and Wasserstein-2 metrics. By decomposing the time derivative of relative entropy, we derive near-optimal convergence rates with polynomial dependence on dimensionality for certain kernel families. We also outline a framework to compare deterministic SVGD algorithms to the more standard randomized MCMC algorithms.Biography: Dr. Krishnakumar Balasubramanian works at the interface of statistics, optimization and machine learning with a focus on addressing inferential and computational aspects. He received his Ph.D from Georgia Tech. After appointments in Princeton University and and UW-Madison, he joined the Department of Statistics, UC Davis in Fall 2018. He has received a Facebook fellowship award and an ICML best paper runner-up award.

Time: 10:30 AMLocation: Boston, MA / The TRACK at New Balance

As part of the exhibition Afrofuturism and Otherworldliness, join us for a screening of the Afrofuturistic sci-fi film Space is the Place, directed by John Coney and featuring Sun Ra and his Arkestra. The film follows Sun Ra as he travels through time and space, seeking to transport Black people to a new utopian planet where they can thrive free from oppression. Blending surreal visuals, philosophical musings, and Sun Ra's signature music, this avant-garde masterpiece is part cosmic odyssey, part social commentary, and wholly unique. It's a kaleidoscopic exploration of liberation, identity, and the boundless power of imagination. Light snacks and popcorn will be provided.This event is presented as part of Artfinity: A celebration of creativity and community at MIT.

A 50 minute, (usually) student-led tour of MIT D-Lab, D-Lab prototypes, and our workshop! Hear about the 23-year history of D-Lab, our founding director Amy Smith, our 12+ MIT classes, research groups, humanitarian innovation program and more! Not free at tour time? Stop by anytime to look around or email d-lab-tours@mit.edu.