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: TBALocation: TBA

Time: 12:00 PMLocation: Cambridge, MA

Tuesday, April 29, 202510–11 AM46-3310 (Picower Seminar Room)Zoom: https://mit.zoom.us/j/98400785840?pwd=az5ljtDhAzxy38pgmXxl6fcHV0rmtM.1Title: Oligodendrocyte progenitor heterogeneity in normal aging and neurodegenerationAbstract:Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) are one of the four major glial cell types in the central nervous system (CNS). As their name suggests, OPCs are primarily defined by their capacity to differentiate into mature oligodendrocytes that form myelin sheaths around the axons in the CNS. However, OPCs continue to tile the adult CNS long after developmental myelination has concluded, and they contribute sparingly to oligodendrocyte turnover, suggesting that OPCs play important roles beyond OL replacement. To define the possible space of non-canonical OPC functions in the adult brain, I construct a transcriptomic atlas at single-cell resolution to reveal patterns of heterogeneity at local and global scales of anatomical organization. First, I characterize OPC heterogeneity in the pathologically normal human brain. I profile cells from prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, striatum, and ventral midbrain of 156 unique donor individuals. Across all sampled brain regions, I identify a subset of OPCs that is characterized by an angiogenic gene signature and hypothesize that these cells are perivascular OPCs that associate closely with the cerebrovascular endothelium. Furthermore, I find significant differences in gene expression between cortical and striatal OPCs which may correspond to functional specializations that support local neuronal function. Second, I profile OPCs from mouse motor cortex and dorsal striatum and perform a comparative analysis of human and mouse OPCs. Third, I characterize OPC transcriptomic dysregulation in Huntington’s disease (HD). In HD, I find that pvOPCs exhibit altered retinol metabolism and increased Wnt pathway activity. This aligns with known decreases in retinoic acid (RA) signaling in HD and suggests a potential role for pvOPCs in modulating vascular function via RA/Wnt signaling.

Don't miss our final Coffee & Conversations event of the academic year!Embrace MIT's Values of Belonging and Community! Connect with people you know and those you don't, share ideas, and build meaningful relationships over a cup of coffee and a light snack!

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.

Inspired by Devlin’s artwork Congregation, over 100 members of the MIT community came together to draw one another. Paired with individuals they did not previously know, the participants used drawing as a means of close observation and a pathway to creating human connections. The exhibition of drawings by students, faculty, and staff forms a collective portrait of the MIT community. The work is installed in MIT's new concert hall and is free and open to the public; no tickets are required.

Swing by the Lab (14S-0513) for a paper marbling workshop and explore self-directed activities in the Wunsch Conservation Lab. Items on display during the open house include: Historical marbled papers, Martha Peterson Islamic Window Archive, Simulacra created by MIT Students, Zine-making activities, and more. Registration requested.

Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on Es Devlin’s climate-focused installations, moderated by Ana Miljački. This session will explore the artistic and environmental impact of works such as Come Home Again (Tate Modern), Conference of the Trees (COP26), Forest for Change (The Global Goals Pavilion), and Forest of Us (Superblue).Es Devlin, the 2025 recipient of the Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT, is known for her visionary approach to design, blending art and activism to address pressing global issues. The McDermott Award, established in 1974, honors outstanding artistic achievements and fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation.Don't miss this opportunity to engage with one of the most groundbreaking designers of our time and explore the powerful role of art in confronting climate challenges. Space is limited—register by April 18 to secure your spot!

Zoom link: TBASpeaker: Vivian PaulunAffiliation: Kanwisher/TenenbaumTitle: TBAAbstract: TBA

Join us for lunch with Rekha Murthy! Come meet Rekha in person and enjoy a meal while learning about her experiences in the podcast industry.Rekha is a Founder, Podcast Strategist + Story Editor with decades of experience in podcasting, public radio, and other digital media. She advises on content strategy, show development, story editing, and distribution. She works with clients of all sizes - from Spotify, Getty and KEXP to independent influencers, creators, and journalists. Rekha believes that podcasting is at its best when it includes a wide range of voices and lived experiences.Rekha has helped launch and lead key industry initiatives, including Spotify's Sound Up global training program, The Impact Guild, The Podcast Academy (home of The Ambies), and Radiotopia from PRX. She spent years at PRX + Radiotopia, NPR's All Things Considered + NPR Online, and web and mobile startups.As an MIT alum advisor, Rekha supports current MIT students while drawing from her own educational background. She earned her SM in Comparative Media Studies from MIT in 2005, where her Masters thesis explored how people use urban streetscapes to communicate. Before MIT, she completed her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations at Brown University in 1996.Register in Handshake. Dinner will be served for the first 30 attendees. This CAPD event is open to MIT undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and alumni.

Speakers: David Kung (TPSE)Title: Spreading EMBERS: Eliminating Mathematics Barriers through Evidence-based ReformsAbstract: Project EMBER is a national initiative focused on helping higher education students succeed in introductory mathematics by aligning courses with their interests. It aims to eliminate math as a barrier by supporting Teaching Focused Faculty with resources to implement research-backed innovations. This session will provide an overview of the initiative, discuss systemic change approaches, and review progress. Attendees will engage, discuss, and explore opportunities to get involved. Bring a friend! We especially encourage institution teams to attend, including teaching focused faculty, research faculty, and departmental leaders.Zoom link: https://cornell.zoom.us/j/92415199317Zoom Link Password: olsumeFor more information on OLSUME: https://olsume.org/

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.

Mice, or Microfluidics? Humanizing Biomedical Research, Inspired by Women’s Health ChallengesJoin us for the second seminar series event hosted by the Women's Health Program (WHx) at the MIT Media Lab, featuring Linda Griffith, who is Professor of Teaching Innovation at the MIT School of Engineering and director of the MIT Center for Gynepathology Research.Dr. Canan Dagdeviren, head of the Conformable Decoders research group and WHx Faculty Lead, will moderate the event. The WHx seminar series is supported by the WHx program and the Program in Media Arts and Sciences (MAS).

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.

Speaker: Miles Couchman (York University)Title: Turbulent mixing in stratified flowsAbstract:Understanding how turbulence enhances the irreversible mixing of scalars in density-stratified fluids is a central problem in industrial and geophysical fluid dynamics. For instance, accurately parametrizing turbulent heat transport within the ocean is a leading area of uncertainty in climate modelling. We here present a series of data-driven approaches for quantifying the spatiotemporal distribution of mixing hotspots and structures in turbulence datasets.First, we describe an unsupervised clustering technique for analyzing oceanographic data, highlighting that traditional analyses may significantly underestimate mixing generated by rare, extreme events. We then consider mixing in complementary direct numerical simulations, revealing the importance of stable anisotropic density interfaces embedded within the flow. Finally, we introduce a dimensionality-reduction algorithm for classifying experimental videos of stratified flow instabilities, leading to a cluster-based network model quantifying turbulent transition pathways.Collectively, our findings highlight that extreme mixing events have the potential to dominate bulk mixing statistics. Current parametrizations of turbulent heat transport may thus be skewed by undersampled measurements, resulting in a focus on the most common, but not necessarily the most significant, events.

"On the Role of Outside Options in Buyer-Seller Relationships" | Anna Sanktjohanser (Toulouse)

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

Speakers: Xuerui Yang (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)Title: On the Gauss Circle ProblemAbstract: The circle problem has been a notorious problem in number theory. It boils down to derive an effective bound on certain two-dimensional exponential sum over the integer ring. I will talk about how to connect this pointwise bound problem to a mean-value-estimate problem. Then, I will explain how decoupling theory can help us solve the mean value problem.

Abstract: The intensifying development of machine learning (ML) models and the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, particularly generative AI, has dramatically shifted practices around data, spurring the development of new industries and unveiling unprecedented forms of exploitation. These new complexities around the production, refinement, and use of data indicate severe implications for African countries, including the widescale spread of generative AI-driven disinformation, increased manipulation exacerbated by digital platforms, and the continuation of colonial-era marginalization through datafication practices. These concerns elevate a need for comprehensive and harmonized data regulation efforts across the African continent, given existing challenges with fragmented policy implementation and limited capacity for regulatory enforcement. This talk examines the burgeoning AI and data governance landscape in Africa, analyzing the impact of AI on democratic processes, outlining best measures for data governance policy reform, and delineating priorities to democratize African participation in global AI governance.Bio: Chinasa T. Okolo, Ph.D., is a Fellow at The Brookings Institution and a recent Computer Science Ph.D. graduate from Cornell University. Her research focuses on AI governance for the Global Majority, datafication and algorithmic marginalization, and the socioeconomic impact of data work. Dr. Okolo has been recognized as one of the world’s most influential people in AI by TIME, honored in the inaugural Forbes 30 Under 30 AI list, and advises numerous multilateral institutions, national governments, corporations, and nonprofits. In addition to her work at Brookings, Dr. Okolo serves as a Drafting Member of the Nigerian National AI Strategy, a Consulting Expert to the African Union AI Continental Strategy, an Expert Contributing Writer to the International AI Safety Report, and the Editor-in-Chief of ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society. Her research has been covered widely in media outlets and published at top-tier venues in human-computer interaction and sociotechnical computing.This event is co-sponsored by the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems.

Speaker: Rebecca Heald, University of California, BerkeleyHost: Adam MartinTitle: "Mechanisms and consequences of size scaling in frogs"The Biology Colloquium is a weekly seminar held throughout the academic year — featuring distinguished speakers in many areas of the biological sciences from universities and institutions worldwide. More information on speakers, their affiliations, and titles of their talks will be added as available. Unless otherwise stated, the Colloquium will be held live in Stata 32-123 (Kirsch auditorium) Contact Margaret Cabral with questions.

Maximize your impact for a better world:The importance of developing your technical leadershipand communication skills while at MITFireside chat with L. Rafael Reif, MIT President EmeritusHosted by Anantha P. Chandrakasan, Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer, Dean of the School of EngineeringIn addition to an exceptional technical education, what capabilities do you need to tackle the world’s biggest challenges? How can technical leadership skills propel your career and ability to make a difference in the world?Join us for a fireside chat with Rafael Reif hosted by Anantha Chandrakasan as they explore how technical leadership and communication skills can transform your aspirations into world-changing reality. They will share their experiences as pioneers in their fields and how they developed to be outstanding leaders.Whether your focus is industry, entrepreneurship, or academia, you will learn how investing in technical leadership capabilities now will greatly increase your effectiveness and success in the future.

John Waugh Lecture

Speaker/ Moderator: Manish Bharadwaj, Ph.D.Manish directs Keller Center's Design for Innovation program for faculty in the humanities and social sciences. He was previously the James Wei Visiting Professor at Keller, where he taught idealism in entrepreneurship. Manish is the CEO and co-founder of Innovators In Health, which is devoted to delivering world-class healthcare to the rural poor in India. Manish is also a Fellow of the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT. Manish believes that a venture to make the world more just is fundamentally a moral, not technical, undertaking. It requires cultivating a moral imagination, an ability to imagine why people do right or wrong, the root of empathy, itself the root of all enduring change. He believes that accompaniment, to stand with the marginalized, literally and figuratively, is a moral imperative, and in and of itself a powerful means of change.

The Department of Mathematics welcomes École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne professor Maryna Viazovska to our annual Simons Lecture Series.She will give three lectures April 29-May 1The Sphere Packing Problem Lecture 1: General overview. Lecture 2: Random sphere packings with symmetries Lecture 3: Ideal lattice packings and subconvexity bounds IIEach day, a reception will be held at 4pm in Room 2-290, followed by the 4:30pm lecture in Room 2-190.This annual lecture series features presentations by top mathematicians. Many thanks to the late Jim Simons and his wife, Marilyn Simons, for their continued financial support of these lectures.

The iCampus Student Prize recognizes the innovative and creative application of technology that improves living and learning at MIT. The competition builds upon the entrepreneurism and spirit of service exhibited by MIT students to solve the world’s problems by focusing attention of what might be improved closer to home in MIT’s education and student life.This year, the iCampus Student Prize is focused on sustainability utilizing the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainability is crucial for our future. The prize focuses on MIT students' unique take on the sustainability theme and how their projects can support, improve, and impact living both at MIT and beyond.Learn more about the iCampus Student Prize.This event is organized by MIT Open Learning.

Conor Walsh Univ. of Columbia

Time: 3:30 PMLocation: Cambridge, MA

Sugarcane is a powerful documentary by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie that explores the impact of Canada's Indian residential schools through the lens of a community reckoning with long-suppressed truths and generational trauma. As they follow the investigation into unmarked graves at St. Joseph’s Mission, the filmmakers uncover both personal and collective stories of pain, resilience, and enduring love within Indigenous families.Resources for survivors & families, those who are unfamiliar with the history, and educators can be found on the Sugarcane website.If you have any questions please email cbsoll@mit.edu.

Join us for MAD in Dialogue, a conversation with leading faculty on the future of design at MIT and beyond.Through short talks and discussion, speakers will share their perspectives on the role of design in research, teaching, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.The event will also celebrate new appointments to named professorships at the Morningside Academy for Design and introduce the 2025 cohort of MAD Design Fellows.A reception will follow.

"Do you ever feel that life holds a deeper meaning beyond what you currently understand? The truth is profound—there are countless mysteries of existence, divinity, and the self that lie beyond our awareness. There is so much we don’t know, and even more that we don’t realize we don’t know."Join us on this exciting journey of Discover Your Self to explore the unknown territories of life and delve into the science of spirituality. This course, based on the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, will equip you with proven methods to achieve true inner joy and answer your deepest questions about life's higher principles. This Course explains Proven methods to attain the true inner joy of heart and gives answers to all the Inquiries about Higher Principles in life like the pathway for unlimited and everlasting happiness from the eyes of scriptures like Bhagavad Gita in a scientific perspective.Salient Features:Discover the Game of LifeDiscover Inner SelfDiscover The Ultimate GeniusDiscover Manual of LifeDiscover Lasting SolutionDiscover Sublime Joy Through SoundDiscover The Real Eternal LoveDiscover The Happy PlanetYou are invited to join us every Tuesday 6:00-7:00 pm. To your pleasure we have free delicious sattvik vegetarian dinner is available after every session.Event details:6:00 pm-6:10 pm: Mantra Meditation and kirtan6:10 pm-6:50 pm: : Session7:00pm : Dinner along with Q&A.Venue: MIT Room 56-180, 32 Vasaar Steeet, Cambridge MA Kindly RSVP here https://forms.gle/DEXUz6ig6dJZoU1k7Regards, MIT Vedic Vision Forum

Killian Hall, MIT 160 Memorial DriveJoin us for the MIT Jazz Combos concert!Livestream Link: Click HereFree admission! Seating is first come, first serve at the door.