2025 Mandala @ MITCo-sponsored by MIT Prajnopaya, Buddhist Student Club, Simmons Hall

The Breakfast Series is a regular series from the MIT Women's League. Women in the MIT community are invited to join us to hear from women faculty and administrators explore the role of women in the academy, sharing the pathways their professional lives have taken — the people and events that have influenced their direction. A full plated breakfast will be served, prepared by Chef Patrick Campbell. This event is open the MIT Community only.Bev Boisseau Stohl is a nonfiction writer with published essays in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the MIT Press, Brevity Blog, Watertown Lit Squad Sampler, and other publications. She has interviewed with Current Affairs Magazine, Reddit (AMA), Open Source radio, CounterPunch, Green and RedPodcast, The Boston Globe, and other social media. Chomsky and Me: A Memoir (OR Books, 2023) is the story of her 24 years as Noam Chomsky’s MIT assistant. Bev, Noam, and her dog Roxy have been featured in graphic novels, and animated in Michel Gondry’s 2013 film, Is the Man who is Tall Happy? Chomsky and Me was long-listed for the 2024 Mass Book Awards. Bev has performed stand-up comedy, appeared on TV news shows talking backward, and has dabbled in ukulele, guitar, piano, dulcimer, and woodworking.Space is limited. Please email kbennett@mit.edu to RSVP, and let us know if you have any dietary restrictions.

Writing Together Online offers the structured writing time to help you stay focused and productive during the busy fall months. 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. We offer writing sessions every workday, Monday through Friday. 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.Please register for any number of sessions:Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 9:00–10:30am (EST) Tuesday and Thursday, 8:00–9:30am and 9:30-11:00am (EST)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. MIT Students and postdocs who attend at least 5 sessions per challenge will be entered into a gift-card raffle.

On view October 1 -- December 11, 2025This exhibition draws on archival materials from the Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC) to explore a century of cultural heritage preservation in Aleppo, Syria. It takes as its point of departure the work of Kamil al-Ghazzi (1853–1933), the pioneering Aleppine historian whose influential three-volume chronicle, Nahr al-Dhahab fī Tārīkh Ḥalab (The River of Gold in the History of Aleppo), was published between 1924 and 1926.Ink, Stone, and Silver Light presents three modes of documentation—manuscript, built form, and photography—through which Aleppo’s urban memory has been recorded and preserved. Featuring figures such as Michel Écochard and Yasser Tabbaa alongside al-Ghazzi, the exhibition traces overlapping efforts to capture the spirit of a city shaped by commerce, craft, and coexistence. At a time when Syria again confronts upheaval and displacement, these archival fragments offer models for preserving the past while envisioning futures rooted in dignity, knowledge, and place.

Speaker: Marina Sirota (University of California, San Francisco)Title: From Data to Knowledge: Integrating Clinical and Molecular Data for Predictive MedicineAbstract: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains one of the most pressing medical challenges, with limited therapeutic options and heterogeneous disease trajectories complicating diagnosis and treatment. Recent advances in computational biology and artificial intelligence (AI) together with availability of rich molecular and clinical data, offer new opportunities to address these challenges by integrating molecular, clinical, and systems-level insights. In our recent studies, we developed a cell-type-directed, network-correcting approach to identify and prioritize rational drug combinations for AD, enabling targeted modulation of disease-relevant pathways across distinct cellular contexts (Li et al., Cell 2025). Complementarily, by leveraging large-scale electronic medical records (EMRs) integrated with biological knowledge networks, we demonstrated the ability to predict disease onset and progression while uncovering mechanistic insights into AD heterogeneity (Tang et al., Nature Aging 2024). Together, these complementary approaches illustrate the power of combining real-world clinical data, knowledge networks, and systems pharmacology to advance precision medicine for AD. This work highlights a paradigm shift toward AI-enabled, data-driven strategies that bridge molecular discovery and clinical application, ultimately informing novel therapeutic interventions and improving patient care.Biography: Marina is currently a Professor and the Interim Director at the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute at UCSF. Prior to that she has worked as a Senior Research Scientist at Pfizer where she focused on developing Precision Medicine strategies in drug discovery. She completed her PhD in Biomedical Informatics at Stanford University. Dr. Sirota’s research experience in translational bioinformatics spans nearly 20 years during which she has co-authored ove r 170 scientific publications. Her research interests lie in developing computational integrative methods and applying these approaches in the context of disease diagnostics and therapeutics with a special focus on women’s health. The Sirota laboratory is funded by NIA, NLM, NIAMS, Pfizer, March of Dimes and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. As a young leader in the field, she has been awarded the AMIA Young Investigator Award in 2017. She leads the UCSF March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at UCSF as well as co-directs ENACT, a center to study precision medicine for endometriosis. Dr. Sirota also is the founding director of the AI4ALL program at UCSF, with the goal of introducing high school girls to applications of AI and machine learning in biomedicine.In person or on Zoom at https://mit.zoom.us/j/93513735220

Professor Soyoung Lee from Yale University at will speak at the MIT Security Studies Program's Wednesday Seminar.Summary: Why do states and their citizens often fight over barren, seemingly worthless territories while not fighting over territories or issues that can be potentially more valuable? In this seminar, Professor Lee will discuss her book, which proposes a new theory of national interest to answer the puzzle. It argues that issues without clear economic value—such as barren lands—are more likely to be perceived as national interests precisely because they do not benefit any single domestic group. Since who benefits is unclear, politicians have an easier time framing such issues as benefiting the entire nation. This book draws on geospatial analyses of territorial claims, survey experiments, textual analyses of political rhetoric, and archival case studies to provide support for the theory. By showing how economic benefits can frequently become a liability in mobilizing unified support for conflict, this book challenges our conventional understanding of economic value in international relations and contributes to a new understanding of distributive politics and foreign policy. It also systematically unpacks how issue value in international relations is formed and deepens our insight into a core question in international relations: what states fight for and why.

Join us for a lunchtime concert with the MIT Ribotones featuring solo and small group chamber performances of classical music.

​​​​​​Are you looking to advance your GIS skills? This workshop offers a comprehensive review of GIS fundamentals and its practical applications. Participants will gain an in-depth understanding of how to utilize spatial analysis tools in ArcGIS Pro to analyze geographic data effectively. Through a step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to model site suitability based on social vulnerability, temperature data, and cooling adaptation infrastructure, providing valuable insights for climate adaptation decision-making. Additionally, the workshop will guide you in refining and enhancing map designs using Adobe Illustrator, equipping you with the skills to produce professional-quality visualizations.Goals:Review GIS Essentials: Gain a solid understanding of GIS fundamentals and its practical applications. Suitability Analysis for Climate Adaptation: Engage in a step-by-step tutorial to model site suitability based on social vulnerability, temperature data, and cooling adaptation infrastructure. Enhance Maps with Adobe Illustrator: Learn how to refine and elevate map designs using Adobe Illustrator for professional-quality results.

The MIT Disabilities ERG is proud to present a series of events for Disability Employment Awareness Month this October. Join us for an informal presentation and discussion with author, advocate, and MIT Staff member Laura Beretsky.Laura successfully challenged her former employer when she was given a negative performance review after having a seizure at work. Her memoir "Seizing Control" explores the challenges of living with a mostly invisible disability and gives hope to anyone who fears their path to fulfillment might be impossible to navigate.Come hear her story and learn about best practices for workplace inclusion.Refreshments provided!Please register to attend either in-person or through Zoom. If attending online, a Zoom link will be provided closer to the event date.Other events in this series10/6 -Making Inclusion and Accessibility Part of All Your Work with Rachel Tanenhaus10/8 -Disabled Artists in Conversation10/3, 10/7, 10/17 -Festival Henge

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

Speaker: Alexander Mramor (University of Oklahoma)Title: On the long-term behavior of the mean curvature flow in 3-manifoldsAbstract:In this talk I’ll discuss recent joint work with Ao Sun where we consider the fate of the mean curvature flow in closed 3-manifolds. Employing many important recent advances on the mean curvature flow we can show that almost regular flows, as introduced by Bamler and Kleiner, will either go extinct in finite time or converge, possibly with multiplicity, to a minimal surface; by a perturbation argument one can go on to construct piecewise almost regular flows where the limit, if nonempty, must be stable. Using this we can use the flow to construct minimal surfaces in 3-manifolds in a variety of circumstances, mainly novel from the point of view that the arguments are via parabolic methods.

Speaker: Sam Raskin (Yale University)Title: Unramified automorphic forms over function fieldsAbstract: I will discuss joint work with Gaitsgory and V. Lafforgue on the structure and spectral theory of unramified automorphic forms over function fields. In particular, we will explain how the Arthur-Ramanujan conjecture can be proved using the general theory.

Speaker: Darij Grinberg (Drexel University)Title: Shuffles in the symmetric group algebraAbstract:Ever since the famous 1992 work of Bayer and Diaconis, it has been known that random shuffles of a deck of cards (with the back side up) can be modelled as elements of the group algebra R[S_n] of the symmetric group S_n. This viewpoint has spawned progress in both card shuffling and the representation theory of the symmetric group. In this talk, I will focus on two projects in the latter: one focusing on the "somewhere-to-below shuffles" t_i := (i) + (i,i+1) + (i,i+1,i+2) + ... + (i,i+1,...,n) in R[S_n] for 1 <= i <= n (where the parenthesized expressions mean cycles; the 1-cycle (i) is the identity), and one focusing on the "k-random-to-random shuffles" R_k := \sum_{1 <= i_1 < i_2 < ... < i_k <= n} \sum_{w in S_n such that w(i_1) < w(i_2) < ... < w(i_k)} w in R[S_n] for 0 <= k <= n. Both families have revealed a variety of unexpected properties. For instance, the R_0, R_1, ..., R_n commute, whereas the t_1, t_2,..., t_n are simultaneously triangularizable (i.e., there is an -- explicitly describable -- basis of R[S_n] on which right multiplication by each t_i acts as a triangular matrix). In both cases, all eigenvalues are integers and can be explicitly described and assigned to Specht modules (irreducible representations of S_n). Many of these properties furthermore generalize to the (type-A) Iwahori-Hecke algebra.Due to the amount of results, this talk will be an overview with no proofs.Some of the above is joint work with Nadia Lafrenière, Sarah Brauner, Patricia Commins and Franco Saliola.

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On Wednesday nights you are invited to come to The Table for peaceful Christian worship in the Chapel at 5:15 pm and dinner in the Main Dining Room of W11 at around 6:30 pm.We worship with beautiful songs, open conversation about the Scriptures, prayers and a simple sharing of communion around the altar. Then we enjoy dinner together and good company together. Whether you come every week or just drop by once in a while, there is a caring community for you at the Table.You are truly welcome to come as you are: undergrad, grad, or post-doc; sure of your faith or wondering what it is all about; gay, straight, bi, trans, questioning. Please join us for no-pressure worship and fellowship.Hosted by the Lutheran Epsicopal Ministry @ MIT. For more information, or to verify gathering times during holiday and vacation periods, please contact chaplains Andrew Heisen (heisen@mit.edu) and Kevin Vetiac (kvet246@mit.edu).Please note that we will not meet during the week of Thanksgiving nor between Christmas and New Year's Day. Please see our website (le-ministry.mit.edu) for updates on meeting times and locations as well as additional details.

Artist Janet Echelman will discuss her new book, Radical Softness: The Responsive Art of Janet Echelman, in a conversation with art historian Gloria Sutton and John Ochsendorf, MIT professor and structural engineer. Together, they'll explore the intersections of art, architecture, and responsive design in the urban landscape.The MIT Museum's newest exhibition Remembering the Future (coming soon), is the culmination of the book's narrative which spans the past twenty-five years of Janet Echelman's monumentally scaled public sculptures using unlikely materials, from atomized water particles to engineered fiber fifteen times stronger than steel. She weaves ancient craft and computational modeling software into an utterly unique art form.Radical Softness is a comprehensive sourcebook that unpacks Echelman's vital practice and her ongoing commitment to Taking Imagination Seriously, the title of her TED Talk which has been translated into thirty-five languages and has more than two million views. It features mesmerizing color photographs, a foreword by fellow creative Swizz Beatz, and contributions from a diverse range of internationally recognized scholars, engineers, designers, architects, and curators contextualizing the interdisciplinary impact of Echelman within the fields of global art history, architecture, computation, and landscape architecture.Copies of Radical Softness will be available for purchase and signing after the talk, courtesy of the MIT Press Bookstore.October 15, 2025 6-7pm, followed by a book signing $5

Free and open to all!Join us for an informal speed networking session and build your professional network. In this 45-minute activity, participants will make numerous contacts in a short period of time, with an opportunity to exchange contact information if desired.People of all ages, backgrounds, and industries are warmly welcomed. If you’re able, please download the LinkedIn app and have your QR code pulled up and ready to share when you arrive. If you prefer to keep it old-school, business cards are also welcomed!This event is presented in collaboration with our friends at The Foundry.The Foundry building provides space and programs for the visual and performing arts, entrepreneurship, technology, and workforce education within its historic, industrial setting. If you are especially interested in connecting with local artists and creators, or looking for accessible space in Cambridge to host programming and events, then this is a great opportunity!

Join us for an in-person conversation with four recent MIT graduates working on environmental issues, health care, and community development to discuss career paths in the public interest. Register at: https://mit.joinhandshake.com/events/1839133/share_previewModerator: Prof. Justin Steil, DUSPFeaturing:Willie Boag, Computer Science PhD, ‘22Willie earned a PhD at MIT focused on health, machine learning, and policy, and later served as technical lead for deploying a postpartum hemorrhage prediction model at Duke. Now a Senior Data Lead at MassHealth, he splits his time between analytics and innovation. On the analytics side, he connects policy questions to data to drive evidence-based decisions in maternal health, child immunizations, and population health. On the innovation side, he has led AI pilot teams across Massachusetts Health and Human Services, including efforts to modernize legacy mainframe systems.Kate Dineen, Urban Studies and Planning Masters, ‘11Kate Dineen is the President & CEO of A Better City, a multi-sector group of nearly 130 Boston business leaders united around a common vision: to create a more vibrant, competitive, sustainable, and equitable city and region for all. She served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from May 2019 to April 2023. Prior to joining A Better City, Kate worked for the New York State Governor's Office, serving as the Chief of Staff for State Operations, Assistant Secretary for the Environment, and Deputy Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery after Superstorm Sandy.She was previously U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s Policy Director and has worked in the non-profit and media sectors. Kate serves on numerous commissions and boards and is an Advisory Council Member for the Tufts University Center for State Policy Analysis.Smriti Bhaya, Urban Studies and Planning Masters, ‘24Smriti has a background in architecture and has worked on private and public development projects in India, and with NYC's Department of City Planning. At MIT, she co-founded two social impact start-ups - Purifyx and Sakhi. Purifyx aimed to provide low-cost passive water filters for rural households in India. Sakhi supports menstrual hygiene management for girls in Bangladesh. It is a WhatsApp chatbot that generates responses to questions about menstrual hygiene that are grounded in accurate, verified knowledge from international health agencies. Ultimately, Sakhi aims to improve literacy among young girls across emerging countries who do not have access to this kind of information but would benefit from it.During her time at MIT, Smriti was a DesignX Fellow, a Legatum Fellow, a Harvard Venture Innovation Fellow, and an IDEAS Social Innovation Awardee.Chris Hunter, Management Bachelors, ‘18Chris is the Director of Advisory Services at LEAF - Local Enterprise Assistance Fund.LEAF is a nonprofit community loan fund for cooperatives and underserved small businesses. They provide culturally competent technical assistance and flexible financing in order to build community economic power.He leads a team of analysts who work collaboratively with small business owners to identify and resolve business challenges, provide robust financial analysis and planning services, and develop buyer and investor facing diligence materials to support access to capital and contracts. Chris began working with LEAF through a PKG Center program while an MIT undergraduate!Brought to you by DUSP, The PKG Center, CAPD, MIT Climate Project

Come join the MIT Women’s Chorale as we experience the joy of making music together! New singers from throughout the MIT community are welcome on Wednesdays evenings, beginning on September 10, from 7 to 9 pm in Building 4 as we practice for our December concert.The Chorale, a concert choir focused on music for treble voice, is led by our talented music director, Nhung Truong, who makes each rehearsal a pleasure.We ask that prospective singers contact us at mitwc@mit.edu to register with us and be placed on an e mail list to receive necessary information. Further details are available on our website.https://web.mit.edu/womensleague/womenschorale/

Time: 7:00 PMLocation: Springfield, MA

Time: 7:00 PMLocation: Worcester, MA