Time: 6:00 PMLocation: Cambridge, MA

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.

TBA | Diego Kanzig (Northwestern)

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

Alexandre Belloni (Duke University)

Ryota Iijima Princeton University (joint with Mira Frick and Daisuke Oyama)

A series of talks on OR-related topics. For more information see: https://orc.mit.edu/seminars-events/

Speaker: Mike O'Neil (Courant Institute)

The Trump administration has reversed decades of U.S. support for globalization by pulling out of multilateral trade deals, imposing tariffs, restricting immigration, and sidelining global institutions. Join us for a conversation with MIT experts on the impact and potential outcomes of such policies for our nation and the world.Please RSVP here.SPEAKERS:Suzanne Berger is an Institute Professor at MIT. She serves on faculty at the Department of Political Science and is affiliated with the Center for International Studies. Her research focus is on politics and globalization. Additionally, she co-directs the newly launched Initiative for New Manufacturing (INM) which brings engineers, social scientists, and economists together to work on how to transform manufacturing. She also led the MIT Production in the Innovation Economy project (Making in America: From Innovation to Market, 2013). She founded the MIT International Science and Technology Initiative (MISTI) program, which sends hundreds of MIT students abroad each year for internships in labs and companies.Simon Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he is head of the Global Economics and Management group. At MIT, he is also co-director of the Stone Center Initiative and a research affiliate at Blueprint Labs. In 2024, he received the Sveriges Rsbank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel, joint with Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity.”MODERATOR:Richard Locke is the John C Head III Dean at the MIT Sloan School of Management. A scholar of international labor standards and comparative political economy, Locke began his appointment as dean in July 2025. Prior to this, Locke served as the dean of Apple University, which focuses on internal leadership and management education for Apple, Inc. and was Brown University’s provost, a position he held for nearly eight years. Earlier at MIT, he served as the Class of 1922 Professor of Political Science and Management and the Alvin J. Siteman Professor of Entrepreneurship, as well as the head of the political science department and MIT Sloan’s deputy dean.Free & open to the public. A recording will be posted on YouTube following the event.MIT is committed to providing an environment that is accessible to individuals with disabilities. If you need a disability related accommodation to attend or have other questions, please contact us at starrforum@mit.edu.Sign up for Starr Forum emails to get notified about upcoming events.A full listing of Starr Forums is available here.

Before Games Could Listen: Thinking Beyond Interactivity in Early Game MusicEarly game sound is often framed as a technological stepping stone, or, more negatively, as a crude precursor to the interactive and adaptive scores of later decades. This narrative of progress, while historically coherent, has tended to obscure the musical imagination and structural sophistication that flourished within early gaming platforms. My work reconsiders that narrative by showing how alternative modes of listening—attentive to structure, design, and technological limitation—can reveal distinct compositional logics and aesthetic priorities, inviting a broader understanding of creativity before games could “listen.”About the SpeakerAndrew Schartmann is a composer and music theorist whose work bridges classical traditions and interactive media. He is a Professor of Music Theory at the New England Conservatory and serves as Audio Director of Yale’s XR Pediatrics Lab, where he creates sound and music for award-winning augmented-reality games, including SmokeSCREEN VR (Gold Medal Winner, 2020 International Serious Play Awards; Forbes Top 50 VR Games of 2019) and Year of the Cicadas (Unity for Humanity Winner, 2023).Schartmann is the creator of NADIA, a mobile app that teaches music fundamentals through gamified learning, scheduled for release in November 2025. He is currently collaborating with William E. Caplin on an interactive website devoted to Beethoven’s piano sonatas and recently curated Beethoven: A Multisensory Experience, an exhibit that explores Beethoven’s legacy through play and interactive storytelling.His books include Koji Kondo’s Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack (Bloomsbury, 2015), Keiji Inafune(Bloomsbury, 2025), Analyzing NES Music (Intellect / University of Chicago Press, 2025), and a forthcoming volume on The Legend of Zelda for the University of Chicago Press. Schartmann is Associate Editor of DSCH Journal and serves on the editorial boards of The Journal of Sound and Music in Games and SMT-V.About the Music Forum SeriesThe MIT Music & Theater Arts Music Forum is a series of public presentations by music scholars from inside and outside of MIT. Hosted in the Lewis Music Library and presented in partnership with MIT Libraries, the MTA Music Forum Series gives the MIT Community an opportunity to engage with leading voices in every field of music scholarship. Past presenters include John Harbison, Julia Wolfe, Terry Riley, Don Byron, and others.

From Process to Outcome: A Joint Book LaunchAs the pace of global change accelerates — ecologically, socially, and technologically — design is emerging as an essential partner to science and technology. This event marks the launch of two new books that capture design’s role across scales.THE BOOKSDesigning the X: Shaping an Unknown Future, by Dennis Frenchman, Svafa Grönfeldt, and Sigurdur Thorsteinsson, examines how design enables us to move with complexity, not against it, shaping futures beyond the limits of the present. Grounded in praxis and research — including interviews with designers, technologists, and educators — it makes the case for design as an essential partner to science and technology: integrative, inventive, and profoundly human.Value of Design, by Dr. Andrea Chegut, Minkoo Kang, Helena Rong, and Juncheng “Tony” Yang, asks a different question: can design be quantified? Drawing on years of research at MIT’s Real Estate Innovation Lab, the book reveals how design leaves measurable traces in the built environment — economic, social, and environmental — that can be captured through data and correlated with real outcomes in our cities.Together, the books highlight two stages of design: the process of generating new possibilities, and the outcomes that design makes visible and measurable. The evening will include conversations with contributors, hands-on activities, and book sales.

Time:Location: Philadelphia, PA / Temple University

Time:Location: Philadelphia, PA / Temple University

Silent Meditation in the Chapel on Thursdays 6-8pm, open to everyone in the MIT Community. Some sessions include Guided Meditation at 6:30pm.

Time: 5:00 PMLocation: Cambridge, MA

Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 8 pm Thomas Tull Concert Hall at the Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building 201 Amherst Street, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyKINAN AZMEH - The Fence, the Rooftop and the Distant Sea for clarinet and cello (2016) ELENA RUEHR - Carnival for wind quintet (2025) WORLD PREMIERE REENA ESMAIL - Nadiya for flute and viola (2017) MAURICE RAVEL - Piano trio in A minor (1914)Our second concert of the season is our first subscription series concert at MIT’s gorgeous new Thomas Tull Concert Hall. In The Fence, the Rooftop and the Distant Sea—premiered by the Syrian-born, Brooklyn-based clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh and cellist Yo-Yo Ma—explores “two characters searching for memories of home.” A world premiere follows, the playful Carnival for wind quintet by our dear friend, the Boston composer Elena Ruehr. Next, we share another wind and string duo, this one Indian-American composer Reena Esmail’s Nadiya for flute and viola. We end the concert with Maurice Ravel’s luminous masterpiece, the Piano Trio in A minor.Located steps from Mass Ave, behind Kresge Auditorium, the new concert hall is a theater in the round, with superb acoustics and full amenities. Click here for parking and dining options in the vicinity.About Radius EnsembleRadius Ensemble liberates classical music for a new generation of music lovers with a fresh combination of eclectic programming and intimate performances by extraordinary musicians.Named Boston’s Best Classical Ensemble 2016 by the Improper Bostonian, and winner of a 2013 CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, Radius Ensemble’s thoughtfully curated programs balance old and new, with repertoire ranging from beloved masterworks to riveting new music – brilliantly performed by some of the best Boston-based musicians. Radius’s go-for-broke performances are interspersed with “live liner notes,” brief remarks that enlighten and entertain.A chamber music ensemble of winds, strings, and piano, Radius Ensemble was founded in 1999 by oboist and impresario Jennifer Montbach. Radius’s subscription season includes a four-concert series at Pickman Hall at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, where the group has been Ensemble in Residence since 2011. Radius has also appeared on concert series throughout New England, including Rockport Music and Clark University. Radius has commissioned and premiered numerous works by Boston-area composers and has won several Meet the Composer grants. Committed to community engagement, Radius presents a free Saturday-morning family concert in Harvard Square, donates free tickets to disadvantaged children and their parents or mentors through local community service agencies, and works with students at Cambridge Rindge & Latin School.Eight core members comprise Radius Ensemble. They are joined by additional musicians as repertoire warrants, including (but not limited to) harp, percussion, and double bass. The group has also collaborated with a thereminist, several narrators, and dancers; and has appeared with film, live and recorded electronics, and other multimedia.