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.

Congratulations—you’ve got research data! This session will walk you through the dos and don’ts associated with research data and artifacts, all of those associated bits of information necessary to understand research data. These can include structured data, images, unstructured data, metadata, analysis scripts, analysis environment, and much more. We’ll cover the tools and resources available to you for making decisions about your research data (and associated bits) with regard to use agreements, security requirements, and copyright and licensing. We’ll also explore some case studies and do a practical applications exercise.

Hoping to secure funding for international research in the social sciences or humanities? This skill-development seminar is designed to help you craft persuasive funding applications. Open to PhD students and anyone interested in international research funding, this seminar unpacks what makes proposals stand out—from aligning your project with funders’ priorities to clearly communicating your research goals and expected impact. Experienced MIT faculty will share their practical strategies and discuss how to avoid common pitfalls. Strengthen your proposal-writing toolkit and connect with others pursuing global research! This session will be particularly useful for PhD students considering applying for the CIS PhD research grants, with proposals due in March 2026.Gabriella Carolini is an Associate Professor of Urban Planning and International Development in DUSP at MIT, where she leads the City Infrastructure Equity Lab. Her research focuses on the governance and planning of infrastructure development across urban communities in the Americas and Africa. She has published a book on her research, and her articles appear in leading journals.Evan Lieberman is Professor of Political Science at MIT, where he holds the Total Chair on Contemporary African Politics. He is the director of MIT’s Center for International Studies, Global Diversity Lab, and MISTI. His research on South Africa, Brazil, and India has been published in three books and numerous journals.This seminar will be held in E53-482 (Millikan Room). Lunch will be available. Please RSVP here.Contact Kate Danahy at kdanahy@mit.edu with any questions.This event is part of the CIS Global Research & Policy Seminar Series. Join our mailing list here to learn about upcoming seminars in the series.

Date: Monday, October 20, 2025 Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Location: Seminar Room 3189Title: From Genes to Circuits: Spatial Learning and Decision Making In Fruit FliesAbstract: We study how genes and neural circuits control spatial learning and decision making in Drosophila. How animals navigate spatial learning tasks in environments lacking visual landmarks remains poorly understood. We use a high-throughput spatial learning task to investigate this question in Drosophila and found that Drosophila can simultaneously use self-generated olfactory cues and self-motion cues to learn a spatial goal under visually deprived conditions. We use Drosophila selection of egg laying site as a model to study how natural genetic variations shape the value-based decision making. While laboratory flies reject sucrose in favor of a plain substrate for laying eggs, a wild-caught African strain accepts sucrose. We identified the genes, neurons, and circuit that underlie the strain differences in behavior, illustrating how subtle gene regulatory polymorphisms reshape neural computations to drive adaptive variation in decision-making.Bio: Rebecca Yang is currently Associate Professor at Duke University in the Department of Neurobiology. She obtained her PhD from Stanford University studying mechanisms governing planar cell polarity in the Drosophila compound eye. She conducted her postdoctoral training in UCSF, where she used Drosophila egg-laying site selection as a system to study simple decision-making processes. In her own lab, she investigates how genes and circuits, including natural genetic variations, control learning and decision making combining various high-throughput behavioral assays with transcriptomic, optogenetic, and in vivo imaging approaches.

Speaker: Kate Gilbert, Executive Director Boston Public Art TriennialRespondent: Garnette Cadogan, Tunney Lee Distinguished Lecturer in Urbanism, MITThis is part of the CDD / LCAU lunchtime lecture series. Lunch will be served

"Who bears climate change damages? Evidence from the gig economy"| Anna Papp (MIT) (joint with Development)

Anna Papp (MIT)

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

Since returning to MIT on April 1, Vice President for Energy and Climate Evelyn Wang has been engaging with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners across our campus and beyond and listening to ideas for how MIT can best rise to the challenges of energy and climate.As a framework is coming into focus, Professor Wang would like to share her plans with the MIT campus community. She will also introduce a new seed grant program designed to spur and accelerate research projects.To ensure that as many members of our community as possible can take part, we are offering two in-person and one virtual sessions this semester.Please note that all of the sessions are identical, and so you only need to sign up for one.The sessions are as follows:Session 1: In-personMonday, October 20 3:00-4:30 pm Building 55 AtriumSession 2: VirtualWednesday, November 12 10:30 am-12:00 pm Link will be sent to registered attendeesSession 3: In-personTuesday, December 2 3:30-5:00 pm Building 55 AtriumRegistration is required.

Jumpstart your postdoc experience! Plan Your Postdoc (PYP) is a signature program for early stage postdoctoral scholars who have joined MIT for less than a year. Participants attend four 1 to 1.5 hour lectures/planning sessions, panels, and interactive workshops to kickstart their career developmentJoin us for the third PYP meeting: Remember those goals and resources you planned out last week? Learn about various MIT offices and support systems that specifically help postdocs.This event is only open to MIT Postdocs. Registration for this event is required. Please register here.

TBA | Geoff Kocks (MIT)

Speaker: Gefei Cai (Peking)Title: Disconnection and non-intersection probabilities of Brownian motion on an annulusAbstract:We derive an exact formula for the probability that a Brownian path on an annulus does not disconnect the two boundary components of the annulus. The leading asymptotic behavior of this probability is governed by the disconnection exponent obtained by Lawler-Schramm-Werner (2001) using the connection to Schramm-Loewner evolution (SLE). The derivation of our formula is based on this connection and the coupling with Liouville quantum gravity (LQG), from which we can exactly compute the conformal moduli of random annular domains defined by SLE curves. Using a similar approach, we also derive exact formulas for the non-intersection probabilities of independent Brownian paths on an annulus, as well as extend the result to the case of Brownian loop soup. Based on joint work with X. Fu, X. Sun, and Z. Xie, and upcoming work with Z. Xie.

Stop by for snacks and tea with the SHASS community, students, and instructors!HumaniTea is a program partnering with other units in SHASS to gather, share some food and thought, and enrich our shared MIT experience in the process. Once a month, SHASS community members, instructors, and students from diverse fields of studies, backgrounds, and interests can stop in and enjoy a cup of tea or snack.Building 14E-304* *Directions: Third floor of Building 14 from the Lewis Music Library stairs, through the CMS/W doors. Alternatively, take the elevator to the 3rd floor and navigate to the opposite end of the hallway, through third floor and CMS/W doors!

Speaker: Jared Weinstein (Boston University)Title: On the splitting conjecture of HopkinsHopkins’ splitting conjecture predicts the structure of a double localization 𝐿𝐾(𝑡) 𝐿𝐾(ℎ) 𝑆 of the sphere spectrum, where 𝐾(ℎ) is Morava 𝐾-theory at a prime 𝑝 and 0 < 𝑡 < ℎ. Perfectoid techniques give powerful evidence for the conjecture while avoiding explicit computation. We show (a) the conjecture is true for (ℎ, 𝑡) = (2, 1) and 𝑝 odd, recovering a difficult result of Shimomura and Yabe, and (b) for ℎ general and 𝑡 = ℎ − 1, the conjecture is true "up to perfection". This is joint work with Lucas Mann, Rin Ray, and Xinyu Zhou.

Marleen Marra (CEPR)

Join us for dinner with Dr. Aleksandra Mozdzanowska! Come meet Dr. Alex in person, and enjoy a meal while learning about her experiences in HR leadership.Dr. Alex is the Chief People Officer at Commonwealth Fusion Systems with over 10 years of experience leading strategic HR programs, growing and managing teams, and delivering business results. She has a versatile background spanning strategy and execution in Operations, Technology, HR, and Communications. Prior to Commonwealth Fusion Systems, she served as Vice President of Human Resources at Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation, where she advanced through various HR leadership roles, including Director of Human Resource Operations and Director of Program Operations. Dr. Alex has also served as Director of Operations at the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund. She spent time working across different sectors in operations and technology roles.As an MIT alum, Dr. Alex draws from her extensive educational background at the Institute. She earned her Ph.D. in Engineering Systems from MIT in 2008, followed by a post-doctoral degree in AeroAstro in 2009. She also holds a Master of Science in AeroAstro Systems Engineering from 2004. Her undergraduate years at MIT included dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Literature. During her time at MIT, she was involved with MISTI Germany and the Public Service Center.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.

Join us on Monday evenings for Argentine tango classes with outstanding instructors. Whether you are completely new to tango, or already have some experience, you will find a friendly environment in which to learn new things and improve your technique. You don't have to bring a partner, since the classes involve rotations with all participants.Full Series: Sep 15, 22, 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, Nov 3, 10, 17, 24, Dec 1, 8, 15.For all info and registration, visit following link.

Presented by the MIT Office of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life (ORSEL), What is Your Light? transforms the MIT Chapel into a living canvas of light, sound, and reflection. Voices from across the MIT community merge into a one-hour audio track, accompanied by live musicians and interactive projections. Visitors are invited to strike a tam-tam, illuminating lanterns of light and sending ripples of sound across the Kresge Oval, or light their own lantern to float upon the Chapel’s waters. Together, we celebrate the values, stories, and visions that guide our community.Inside the MIT Chapel, we invite you to reflect on the question: “What is your light?”:Record your thoughts for the realtalk@mit archivesWrite your reflections on a lanternFloat your lantern in the moat, adding your response to others from the MIT communityCreated by MF Dynamics in partership with ORSEL and realtalk@MIT.Free and open to the public. Funded in part by the Council for the Arts at MIT. This project has been approved by the Office of the Vice Provost and the Open Space Working Group.This event is part of ORSEL's Refresh Days, a series honoring new year's celebrations and festivals of light from the world's major religions-from Diwali (October 20) to Nowruz, Lunar New Year, and more.*****Register to add your voice—the realtalk@MIT team invites the MIT community to reflect on difficult times and ultimately find an answer to: What is your light?Take a pause from your busy life and connect with strangers in a facilitated, meditative experience.The MIT Chapel is a non-denominational space located next to Kresge Auditorium and the Kresge Oval. We welcome MIT folks from all religious and spiritual backgrounds, including those outside of typical traditions.Attendees may be photographed; at the end of this conversation, there will be an opportunity to contribute your voice to a multi-sensory installation featuring live music, interactive video projection, and an original audio track built from community responses.Photo by Ellie Montmayor from Fall 2024 Refresh Days event, Light the Moat.