The MIT Museum is hosting “Game On!” – a free event aimed at providing gamers of all ages an opportunity to “face off against a robot in Connect 4, pick up skills from Doom-playing bacteria, see if a hacked oscilloscope can hit a 30-note streak on Guitar Hero,” and more, reports Emily Wyrwa for The Boston Globe. The event, which is part of the Cambridge Science Festival, will be held on September 26, 2024.
WBUR’s Erin Trahan highlights how the MIT Museum will be presenting selections from the Woods Hole Film Festival with “monthly titles that broadly encompass ‘science on screen.’” Trahan notes that on “Oct. 26, the MIT Glass Lab co-presents a documentary about a master Italian glass blower, ‘Sono Lino.’ Erik Demaine, MIT professor of computer science, and Peter Houk, MIT instructor and artistic director of the Glass Lab, will introduce the film.”
Scientists and science lovers gathered to celebrate the “quirky aspects of science” at the 2024 Ig Nobel award ceremony held at MIT, reports Ari Daniel for NPR. “We honor some remarkable individuals and groups,” says Marc Abrahams, founder and organizer of the Ig Nobel event and editor of the Annals of Improbable Research. “Every Ig Nobel prize winner has done something that first makes people laugh, and then makes them think.”
NBC News reporter Alex Koller spotlights Noubar Afeyan PhD '87 and the messages he shared as commencement speaker for the 2024 MIT graduating class. "I'm utterly unreasonable and an eternal optimist," said Afeyan, adding that to tackle improbable challenges having "a special kind of optimism" can help.
The Sloan School of Management hosted the “Creating Opportunities for Second Chance Hiring” conference to explore ways to “reduce barriers and increase opportunities for job seekers with a criminal history,” reports Paul Singer for GBH.
Boston Globe reporter Aaron Pressman spotlights the Perkins School for the Blind Hackathon held at MIT. “The students divided into 10 teams, named after colors, and picked one of eight challenges Perkins had crafted, such as assisting a blind person to navigate an indoor space or to pick up non-verbal cues in video conference conversations,” writes Pressman. “But before writing a line of code, the teams met with people with a disability relevant to the challenge they had selected.”
Boston.com reporter Natalie Gale spotlights the upcoming MIT Sustainability Summit, which will be held this year on April 26. The event, called ‘Systems Change,’ “aims to help bridge the ‘collaboration gap’ on climate solutions, bringing together ideas from different sectors like science, business, and policy making speed up solutions,” writes Gale.
Boston Globe reporter Adri Pray spotlights the Women Take the Reel Film Festival, an annual celebration of female filmmakers that “features themes of gender, sexuality, race, feminism, and class.”
Boston Globe reporter Michael Silverman spotlights the 18th MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. The conference focused on a, “diverse array of heady topics such as artificial intelligence, the globalization of soccer, the next phase of sports ownership, the evolutional of poker strategy,” writes Silverman, noting that “nearly every conversation on stage seemed to circle back to a shared belief that the momentum already carrying women’s sports is on the verge of a new surge.”
Fast Company reporter Harry McCracken spotlights Reality Hack, an annual hackathon held at MIT focused on extended reality, which waves together the physical world and digital elements. The event, which had more than 600 participants, “provided a tapestry for wild experimentation that transcended plenty of my preconceived notions.”
A news team from The Tech sat down with Noubar Afeyan PhD ’87 to “discuss his background, philanthropic work, and journey to his current position at the intersection of basic research and venture capital.” Afeyan, who will address the graduating students at this year’s OneMIT Commencement Ceremony, said anybody who comes to the Institute departs with both the “burden and opportunity” to tackle challenging problems.
WBUR reporter Solon Kelleher spotlights “List Projects 29” – the final show in a series at the MIT List Visual Arts Center that focuses on “collaborations between artists.” The show features work from Brittni Ann Harvey and Harry Gould Harvey IV. “The artists co-founded the Fall River Museum of Contemporary Art and share a vision for artist-led spaces and art that engages with the wider community,” writes Kelleher.
Keelin Caldwell, director of engagement for the MIT Museum, speaks with GBH host Jared Bowen about the MIT Museum’s After Dark series, including their upcoming event, “Beyond The Fold,” which will allow participants to explore the art and science of folding. Caldwell explains that the After Dark series happens monthly, noting “there is always a different theme, and that theme is an opportunity to both narrow in but stay broad, and we really try to have activities that appeal to a lot of different people.”
Tech reporters Tina Zhang and Russel Ismael spotlight MIT’s Winterfest celebration, which brought the MIT community together to enjoy tasty treats and revelry. Graduate student Josh Marchant noted that the festivities were “a fun way to destress.” President Sally Kornbluth said that Winterfest is a “wonderful MIT tradition to mark the end of the fall semester and kick off the winter season by gathering with colleagues and friends for a well-deserved break.” Events like this, observed Kornbluth, “where we can be together as a community, are always important, but they are especially meaningful in difficult times.”
MathTalk–a team that aims to make math fun through stories, art and games – held its first annual Family Day on the MIT campus, reports WBZ. “Among the attractions at Family Day, MathTalk had art installations, number lines, Venn diagrams to show off to the kids and adults,” notes WBZ.