Events

    2024 Jan 16

    Hybrid Lecture: The Fascinating Feathers of the Sandgrouse

    6:30pm to 8:00pm

    Location: 

    Online or at Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    The birds that populate the Arnold Arboretum rarely have to go far to find water. In the deserts of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, it's a different story, and the sandgrouse that lives in these arid environments has developed a fascinating adaptation to stay hydrated: these birds have a unique ability to absorb and hold water inside of their feathers. The chicks can't yet fly the long distance from their nests to the watering hole, so adult males make the long journey with the lifesaving water secreted away in their feathers. But how do their feathers hold water so efficiently? Dr...

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    2023 Nov 06

    Soil to Foil: Aluminum and the Quest for Industrial Sustainability

    6:00pm to 7:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museums of Science & Culture—Online or at Haller Hall, 24 Oxford St., Cambridge

    In Soil to Foil (Columbia University Press, 2023), Saleem Ali tells the extraordinary story of aluminum. He reveals its pivotal role in the histories of scientific inquiry and technological innovation as well as its importance to sustainability. He highlights scientists and innovators who discovered new uses for this remarkable element, ranging from chemistry and geoscience to engineering and industrial design. Ali argues that aluminum use exemplifies broader lessons about stewardship of nonrenewable resources: its seeming abundance has given rise to wasteful and destructive...

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    2023 Nov 06

    View from Above with Colonel Terry Virts

    3:30pm to 5:00pm

    Location: 

    Klarman Hall, Harvard Business School, Kresge Way, Boston

    This talk features astonishing aerial images of Earth from Colonel Terry Virts' book and takes of life from the edge of the atmosphere.

    Colonel (USAF retired) Terry Virts has spent over seven months in space during his two spaceflights, piloting the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 2010 and commanding the International Space Station in 2014/2015. He served in the US Air Force as a fighter pilot, test pilot, NASA astronaut, and is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Harvard Business School General Management Program.

    ...

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    2023 Oct 19

    Astronomy is for All of Us: Celebrating Women Astrophysicists and the History of Cosmic Discovery

    5:00pm to 8:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard College Observatory Plate Stacks, 47 Concord Ave., Cambridge

    During Massachusetts STEM Week, join us for an evening celebrating remarkable women in astronomy from across the galaxy. Enjoy a dynamic lecture on exciting applications of astronomy, explore a captivating exhibition in the Great Refractor, engage in family-friendly STEM activities, and cap off the night with fall refreshments and stargazing.

    • Remarks from Professor Lisa Kewley, Director, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
    • Welcome remarks from Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, highlighting...
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    2023 Oct 08

    Tree Mob: Oaks on Peters Hill

    1:15pm to 2:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Oaks are one of the most recognizable trees in New England, and one of the most ecologically important. Join Horticulturist Ryan Devlin for a Tree Mob on the Arboretum's oak collection on Peters Hill and get a closer look at this common but fascinating genus. Learn about oak reproduction, different oak species, mast years, and more through this short landscape talk.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 Sep 25

    2023 Science and Cooking Lecture Series

    Repeats every week every Monday until Mon Nov 27 2023 except Mon Nov 13 2023, Mon Nov 20 2023.
    7:00pm to 8:00pm

    7:00pm to 8:00pm
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    7:00pm to 8:00pm
    7:00pm to 8:00pm
    7:00pm to 8:00pm
    7:00pm to 8:00pm
    7:00pm to 8:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Science Center, 1 Oxford St., Cambridge

    Harvard Science and Cooking Public Lecture Series returns in 2023! The lectures pair Harvard professors with celebrated food experts and renowned chefs to showcase the science behind different culinary techniques. The series, organized by Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) is based on the Harvard course “Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter”.

    All talks will be on Mondays at 7 pm E.S.T. and will take place in the Harvard Science Center (1 Oxford St., Cambridge...

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    2023 Sep 13

    Gallery Talk: Seeing in Art and Medicine

    12:30pm to 1:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge

    Join curator Jen Thum for an exploration of works in the exhibition Seeing in Art and Medicine, on view from September 2 to December 30, 2023. Thum will share insights about the museums’ medical humanities program for radiologists—on which the exhibition is based—and what can be gleaned through close looking.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 Jun 16

    Biophilia and Topology: A Re-imagining of Landscape Architecture

    6:30pm to 7:30pm

    Location: 

    Online or at Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    At its best, landscape architecture merges ecology and design to create landscapes that work with the site, not against it. Dr. Anette Freytag, a professor of the history and theory of landscape architecture, argues that two concepts—biophilia and topology—can help society to better deal with our current environmental crisis and improve wellbeing for all.

    This event will also be livestreamed to YouTube. To sign up for the virtual livestream instead,...

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    2023 May 10

    Climate Policy in Action: A Conversation with Nat Keohane

    4:00pm to 5:00pm

    Location: 

    Online or at Harvard Kennedy School, 79 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge,

    Professor Henry Lee will conduct a fireside chat with Nat Keohane, the president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, former Special Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate in the Obama White House, and an alum of the political economy and government doctoral program at Harvard.

    They will discuss recent progress in the U.S. climate policy space (including the Inflation Reduction Act and U.S. participation in international climate agreements), and the actions that must be taken to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

    ...

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    2023 May 08

    Next in Food Sustainability and Climate Change

    2:00pm

    Location: 

    Online or at Knafel Center, 10 Garden St., Cambridge

    What does climate change mean for our food systems? How do our food production and consumption habits contribute to the climate crisis? Speakers will explore the complex interplay of food and climate change, challenging and illuminating our unsustainable relationships with meat and water, soil and sea.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 May 08

    Climate, Health & Equity: Toward a Sustainable Future

    1:00pm to 6:30pm

    Location: 

    Spangler Center, Harvard Business School Campus

    Climate change is actively harming human health — not in some distant future, but now, in communities around the globe. The more we understand these harms, the better we can confront and overcome them. That’s the goal of this symposium.

    We’re bringing together leading scientists, policy makers, and activists to examine our most urgent challenges and explore the most promising solutions. The audience will include professionals from a wide array of disciplines engaged in issues of climate, health, and environmental justice. We expect the afternoon to inform and inspire, to spark...

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    2023 Apr 24

    A Journey in Engineering Space Systems: From the Mars Helicopter to Project Kuiper

    4:00pm

    Location: 

    Online or at Knafel Center, 10 Garden St., Cambridge

    Mimi Aung will share her personal journey as a space engineer—from her start as an electrical engineer in the NASA Deep Space Network to her role leading the team that built and deployed the Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity: the first-ever controlled flight on another planet.

    She will describe her constant pursuit of "What’s next?" throughout her STEM career, including her current efforts in private industry to develop and launch a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit to increase broadband access around the world, a mission in which she believes deeply.

    ...

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    2023 Apr 22

    Alfred Russel Wallace Turns 200!: A Night of Lightning Talks and Birthday Drinks

    5:30pm to 7:30pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge

    Dive into the world of Alfred Russel Wallace at this science-packed birthday party. In celebration of the bicentenary of Wallace’s birth, Harvard scholars and guest speakers will introduce his key contributions to our understanding of evolution, biodiversity, and biogeography. While unjustly relegated to a footnote in the Charles Darwin story, Wallace was, in fact, a pioneering biologist in his own right.

    Cost: $20 nonmembers / $15 members and Harvard ID holders
    Ticket includes full access to museum galleries and a special Wallace-themed mocktail...

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    2023 Apr 22

    Alfred Russel Wallace Is 200!

    1:00pm to 4:00pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge

    Join the Harvard Museum of Natural History in celebrating the bicentenary of Alfred Russel Wallace’s birth.

    If you are not familiar with Alfred Russel Wallace, you are not alone. Wallace (1823–1913) holds a relatively obscure place in the history of science, despite discovering the theory of evolution by natural selection independently of Charles Darwin.

    On the bicentenary of his birth and in celebration of Earth Day, the Harvard Museum of Natural History will spotlight Wallace’s contributions to our understanding of biodiversity and highlight why they are relevant...

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    2023 Apr 08

    Science Spotlights

    2:00pm to 3:30pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge

    Meet Harvard scientists and learn about questions at the forefront of research today in this series of short talks on the following topics:

    • 2:00pm: Sweaty Shrubs with Melissa Mai, Holbrook Lab
      How do plants deal with too much salt? From the world’s driest desert and tropical coastlines to your own neighborhood, plants get exposed to more salt than they’d like. Some plants have developed unique adaptations to handle extra salt, including a shrub that sweats! I explain how multiple branches of science come together to help us unearth this shrub’s...
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    2023 Mar 23

    Plant Exploration: Then and Now

    6:30pm to 8:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre Street, Boston

    The Arnold Arboretum has been collecting plants from around the world for 150 years, but plant exploration today looks very different than it did in the 1800s. From changes in collecting practices to an evolving relationship between the Arboretum and its international partners, a lot has changed in the last century. Join Head of the Library and Archives Lisa Pearson and Keeper of the Living Collections Michael Dosmann to learn what these trips were like in the days of yore, and what they are like now.

    ...

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    2023 Mar 11

    Science Spotlights

    2:00pm to 3:30pm

    Location: 

    Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge

    Meet up-and-coming scientists and learn about questions at the forefront of research today in this series of short talks. Perhaps you’ll discuss how studying dog reactions help us learn about the evolution of social behavior? Maybe you’ll consider the regrowth of a microscopic worm after injury and what that can teach us about any animal cell. Will you look at how trees manage the tradeoffs of building woody tissue or look for geological evidence of Earth’s first billion years? Each Science Spotlight in the series will include several short research talks.

    Ages 10–Adults....

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    2023 Feb 18

    Tour: Witch-Hazel Walk

    1:00pm to 2:15pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Join a docent tour through the Arboretum looking for the vibrant colors of the witch-hazel flowers. Learn about plants native to China and Japan, those from the Ozarks and Mississippi, and even one that was introduced right here at the Arnold Arboretum! Dress warmly and wear boots for a 75-minute tour on and off the paths.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 Feb 14

    Tour : Witch-Hazel Walk

    1:00pm to 2:15pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Bring your Valentine on a docent -led tour through the Arboretum looking for the vibrant colors of the witch-hazel flowers. Learn about plants native to China and Japan, those from the Ozarks and Mississippi, and even one that was introduced right here at the Arnold Arboretum! Dress warmly and wear boots for a 75-minute tour on and off the paths.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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