conferences and events

Boston Globe reporter Steve Annear writes that MIT students will have an opportunity to chat with NASA astronaut Jack Fischer, an MIT alumnus who is currently aboard the International Space Station. 

Boston Globe reporter Kay Lazar writes about an event held at MIT “aimed at building alliances among diverse groups now also targeted for hate.” The event was organized by the Massachusetts chapter of the Indian American Forum for Political Education. 

In this video, WGBH reporter Tina Martin visits a FixIt Clinic held at the Edgerton Center. Martin explains that the workshops were originally started by MIT graduate Peter Mui in an effort to teach people how to conduct self-repairs. 

STAT reporter Kate Sheridan spotlights the 2017 Koch Institute Image Awards, which aim to recognize visual images produced through life sciences and biomedical research. Sheridan notes that the competition shows “everyone how beautiful biology can be — no microscope required.”

In this video, Channel 7 spotlights Girls Day, an MIT Museum event aimed at encouraging girls to explore STEM fields. Attendees were able to meet the women’s basketball team “and learn the science behind making the perfect shot. Other activities included learning math through dance and the physics of pitching, hosted by the school’s softball team.”

Erandi Palihakkara writes for The Huffington Post about the Viet Youth Projects Conference, an event held at MIT and co-organized by undergraduate Trinh Nguyen, aimed at bringing together Vietnamese youths focused on developing innovative solutions for social problems. The conference was a “networking and learning opportunity that brings together the emerging leaders of social change,” Palihakkara writes. 

AP reporter Collin Binkley writes about Swapfest, an event hosted by the MIT Radio Society, in conjunction with the MIT UHF Repeater Association, the MIT Electronics Research Society, and the Harvard Wireless Club, “where tinkerers from across New England go to buy and sell the gadgets they can't find in stores.” 

Colin Young and Andy Metzger of State House News write that MIT experts spoke about the need for government investment in long-term energy research during the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers. “A lot of what we really need to truly change our energy infrastructure is going to take a lot more than five years,” Prof. Kristala Prather noted.

Catherine Pearson writes for The Huffington Post about the Gala Pump, a compression breast pump designed by Kohana Inc. at MIT’s “make the breast pump not suck” hackathon: “Kohana has run a small clinical trial with 30 moms and says the majority of those women preferred The Gala to their vacuum pumps.”

Boston.com reporter Bill Griffith writes that MIT and the New England Motor Press Association are holding their fifth technology conference on May 21 at the Media Lab. During the event, MIT alumnus Chris Brewer will receive the “Winter Vehicle of New England” on behalf of Ford. 

Steve Annear writes for The Boston Globe about “TransportationCamp New England,” a conference exploring the future of transportation to be held at MIT on April 11th. The event will “play host to demonstrations of technologies including a fuel cell car and the Cambridge-bred Copenhagen Wheel, which provides stored electric power to cyclists struggling to pump their pedals.”

Jennifer Smith of The Boston Globe writes about the fourth annual OrigaMIT convention held November 8, which brought “origami artists from across the country to display their creations and teach attendees to create sculptures from squares of paper.”

The Dalai Lama will speak at MIT Friday, reports Philip Marcelo for the Associated Press. The Dalai Lama will participate in panel discussions focused on how individual actions can help address global warming, food security and other global challenges.

Steve Brown of WBUR features the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ centennial symposium. Brown reports that during a panel discussion featuring Apollo-era astronauts, the group “took part in a spirited discussion on the future of space exploration.”

Boston.com reporter Erin Connolly writes about the MIT panel on women in STEM, highlighting the personal stories of three panel participants. “We really need to make sure that women have the privilege to move forward in any field we want,” said MIT senior Tami Forrester during the event.