This event explores how the process of designing alternative futures can deepen a learner's understanding of complex problems, positively impact one's sense of self, and transform defeat into self-empowerment. Using climate change as the backdrop, a panel discussion will highlight current work using climate futurism to impact change. A hands-on speculative design exercise will challenge students to reimagine an alternate future unfettered by current constraints.Free with museum admission. Free for teens.

Want to get exercise toward the end of the day but don’t want to go outside? Join the tunnel walk for a 30-minute walk led by a volunteer through MIT’s famous tunnel system. This walk may include stairs/inclines. Wear comfortable shoes. Free.Location details: Meet in the lobby with the big mirror, right inside the Collier Memorial entrance to Stata. Location photo below.Tunnel Walk Leaders will have a white flag they will raise at the meeting spot for you to find them.Prize Drawing: Attend a walk and scan a QR code from the walk leaders to be entered into a drawing for a getfit 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! [As of Feb 12, this calendar is defaulting to the year 1899. Click "today" to be brought to the current month.]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.

Asia in Dialogue Seminar Series presents"Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral: Zheng He and the Chinese Overseas"Presented by Tansen Sen, NYU Shanghai and Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton)This presentation examines the processes of landscape- and heritage-making associated with Zheng He in Java, Malacca, and Singapore. By exploring the veneration of Zheng He among both Chinese Muslim and non-Muslim communities in Java, the curation of his legacy in Malacca, and the broader issue of heritage-making in Singapore, this study seeks to address two key questions: Why did Zheng He matter to the Chinese overseas? And how did the Chinese overseas transform his legacy? It draws on the concepts of “superscription” and “Zheng He after Zheng He” to argue that Southeast Asia played a pivotal role in shaping Zheng He’s legacy.

Thursday, February 27, 5-7 p.m., Room 32-124 (dinner provided)Are you prepared to "hit the ground running" at your next internship or in a new role after graduating? Learning how to “take charge” and actively engage with your new responsibilities is an important skill to master.This workshop will help you understand and build this skillset as it relates to your future goals. Hear from a panel of MIT Grad Students as they share their experiences and advice on successfully kickstarting their careers.Who shouldattend:· MIT grad students from all majors· Seeking internships or full time positions· Have internship/employment offers andwant to begin with a strong startWhat you'll learn:· Why "taking charge" is an important skill· Common mistakes and how to avoid them· Strategies for actively engaging with your new responsibilities· Real advice from MIT Grad Students

Speaker: Xinyu Zhou (Boston University)Title: Families of varieties with good reductionAbstract:We review some constructions on crystalline representations and cohomology. Then we present a result in Lawrence-Venkatesh that shows the points in a residue disk that define semisimple representations are contained in a proper analytic subset. The proof illustrates the basic strategy in Lawrence-Venkatesh: to show the finiteness of a set of points, one only need to show its image in the period domain is contained in a Zariski-closed subset with dimension smaller than that of the orbit of a point under the complex monodromy group.Reference:$\bullet$ Lawrence and Venkatesh, Diophantine problems and ppp-adic period mappings, Section 3.$\bullet$ Faltings, Crystalline cohomology and p-adic Galois-representations. Algebraic analysis, geometry, and number theory (Baltimore, MD, 1988), 25–80.$\bullet$ Illusie, Crystalline cohomology. Section 3.Motives (Seattle, WA, 1991), 43–70.

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.

Join us at the MIT List Visual Arts Center for a unique chance to connect with other Boston area graduate art students and emerging artists.For this special networking event, the List Center invites Boston area graduate art students, recent grads, and emerging artists to come together and create connections, while learning more about our exhibitions and highlighting community, placemaking, and professional development.This event will begin with an exhibition tour of Pedro Goméz-Egaña: The Great Learning led by Curator Natalie Bell, followed by networking activities for a chance to meet new colleagues. The evening will close off with several raffled prizes while attendees can enjoy hors d'oeuvres provided by Formaggio Kitchen.6-6:45 PM Exhibition tour of Pedro Goméz-Egaña: The Great Learning 6:45-8 PM Networking activities and open receptionThis event is supported by the MIT Office of Graduate Education.

Join us in the 14th Women Take The Reel Film Festival!Film Screening followed by Q&A with Dir. Jan Haaken and Hessann Farooqi (BCAN)Facillitated by Prof. Catherine D’IgnazioThe film is set along the rivers of Oregon and follows activists as they enlist the necessity defense in a jury trial after being arrested for a direct action at Zenith Energy in Portland. This story of climate resistance in the Pacific Northwest brings into view a historical landscape of tribal leaders, Indigenous activists and white allies as they resist oil trains and trucks carrying these highly inflammable products through treaty lands. In following the path of oil-by-rail and oil resistance along the Columbia, we revisit lessons of the New Deal era of building massive dams and what climate activists take from that era in thinking about a Green New Deal.

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.

The MIT Africa Business Challenge 2025, hosted as part of the Africa Innovate Conference, invites participants to collaborate and tackle Africa’s critical challenges under the theme "By Africa, For Africa: A Path to Africa's Economic Sovereignty." The hackathon focuses on creating innovative, sustainable solutions across food security, healthcare, and finance. Participants will connect with peers, industry leaders, and sponsors to ideate, develop, and pitch impactful solutions. The event features virtual problem-solving workshops, team formation, and in-person hackathon presentations on February 28 & March 1, 2025, at the Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship. Apply here by December 31st, 2024!

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

The MIT Sloan Healthcare & BioInnovations Conference is an annual event that brings together industry, academic, investment, and policy leaders from around the healthcare ecosystem to discuss key issues in the healthcare industry. Attendees will enjoy hearing from speakers and panelists from industry luminaries to serial entrepreneurs, whom they can interact with during networking sessions.The 2025 conference theme, "From Innovation to Impact: The Changing Face of Healthcare," explores groundbreaking developments across the healthcare landscape. Engage with thought leaders and innovators through interactive panel discussions and valuable networking opportunities.Featured PanelsCell & Gene Therapies: Making Cell and Gene Therapies Work for AllData-driven Drug RepurposingTransforming Primary Care DeliveryFunding Women's Health

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

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.

Speaker: Ashia Wilson (MIT)​Title: Two Approaches Towards Adaptive Optimization​Abstract: This talk will address to recent projects I am excited about. The first describes efficient methodologies for hyper-parameter estimation in optimization algorithms. I will describe two approaches for how to adaptively estimate these parameters that often lead to significant improvement in convergence. The second describes a new method, called Metropolis-Adjusted Preconditioned Langevin Algorithm for sampling from a convex body. Taking an optimization perspective, I focus on the mixing time guarantees of these algorithms — an essential theoretical property for MCMC methods — under natural conditions over the target distribution and the geometry of the domain.

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

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

You are invited to a two-session luncheon book club. The book we will be discussing is Assembling Tomorrow: A Guide to Designing a Thriving Future by Scott Doorley and Carissa Carter. The dates for the book discussion are Friday, January 31 and Friday, February 28, from noon to 1:30pmEST. Sessions will be held via Zoom (Join Zoom Meeting: https://mit.zoom.us/j/3801792429?omn=91421489129).The book "investigates the intangibles, the mysterious forces that contribute to the off-kilter feelings of today, and follows up with actionables to help you alter your perspective and find opportunities in these turbulent times. Mixed throughout are histories of the future, short pieces of speculative fiction that illustrate how things go haywire and what might be in store if we don’t set them straight."Each session will be interactive; we will discuss two chapters from the “Intangibles” section of the book and two chapters from the “Actionables” section:January 31 from 12pm to 1:30pmEST will focus on chapters 1, 2, 5, and 6: Connections, Flow, Be Awkward, and Shapeshift.February 28 from 12pm to 1:30pmEST will focus on chapters 3, 4, 7, and 8: Feelings, Make-Believe, Disorient Yourself, and Aim for Imperfection.In November, MAD hosted a book launch of Assembling Tomorrow. The presentation was captivating and sparked my interest in the book. Why revisit a book we have already featured? To take the opportunity to dig a little deeper and benefit from the perspectives of others. Assembling Tomorrow is a fascinating read that is both a cautionary tale and an action plan for improved designs. We hope you can join us!

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.