Special events and guest speakers

Rachel Crowell highlights the 2018 gala of the National Museum of Mathematics. The fundraiser featured a keynote speech from MIT graduate student and former NFL player John Urschel.

Adam Vaccaro of The Boston Globe writes that Prof. Joi Ito’s opening keynote address at HUBweek’s Change Maker Conference focused on how society adapts to major changes. “You can try to get companies to behave carefully by changing regulations, but you’re not going to fundamentally change the outcome unless you change the goals,” explains Ito.

Padma Lalshmi, host of Bravo’s Top Chef, delivered remarks at MIT’s fourth annual Open Endoscopy Forum. Ahead of her speech, Lakshmi spent the day at MIT touring labs and engaging with students, reports Olivia Vanni for The Boston Herald. 

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi spoke at MIT’s Open Endoscopy Forum, where she discussed her past experience with sexual assault and her personal fight with endometriosis. Lakshmi “has been a longtime advocate of raising awareness for endometriosis since being diagnosed as a teen,” write Megan Johnson and Joelle Goldstein for People. 

In an effort to promote transparency and knowledge sharing, HUBweek 2018 will feature a semi-permanent glass structure showcasing new innovations being developed around the region, reports Cynthia Fernandez for The Boston Globe.

HUBweek, an annual festival co-founded by MIT that focuses on ideas for the future, will include a two-day Change Maker Conference this year. J.D. Capelouto writes for The Boston Globe, another HUBweek founder, that this new event “will address a variety of topics, including enabling technologies, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, and civic thinking.”

Zofia Niemtus writes for The Guardian about tech startups focused on helping breastfeeding mothers. Niemtus notes that MIT’s second “Make The Breast Pump Not Suck!” hackathon, which focused on marginalized groups in society, resulted in projects like “a pop-up shelf for pumping in unsanitary public places; a lactation kit for use in disaster zones; and a virtual reality app.” 

In an article for Forbes, Moira Vetter spotlights MIT Solve’s focus on social innovators. “[W]hile the world’s challenges are not always investment-worthy to VCs, they are costly to the countries and communities that incur the cost of those challenges,” says Vetter. “The world needs a few less high-tech gadgets and a few more incentivized Solvers.”

Tim Brothers, who manages MIT's George R. Wallace Jr. Astrophysical Observatory, speaks with Joy Richard of WickedLocal about the upcoming Perseid meteor shower and the observatory’s annual viewing party. Brothers says the event is a great way to get nearby residents interested in space: They grab the opportunity to look through the telescopes, take a tour of the observatory, and look in awe at the 60 to 70 meteors per-hour.

WGBH reporter Gabrielle Emanuel speaks with Research Affiliate Catherine D’Ignazio about how she launched the Make the Breast Pump Not Suck Hackathon as a graduate student at MIT, and how the hackathon inspired new innovations in the breast pump industry. “In no other space of technology would the technology provide for such a terrible experience,” says D’Ignazio of the state of the breast pump.

MIT hosted the 2018 USA Memory Championship for the first time at Kresge Auditorium. The contestants competed in four events, which required the memorization of a variety of topics, including “the periodic table, who’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the life stories of four people,” reports Margeaux Sippell for The Boston Globe.

Boston Globe reporter Sophia Eppolito writes that during MIT’s 2018 Commencement exercises, speakers stressed the importance of uniting to create a better world. “We all strive to see the world, not as a zero-sum game, but as positive-sum — as a world where generous collaboration makes each collaborator smarter, stronger, and richer in every way,” said MIT President L. Rafael Reif.

Quartz reporter Leah Fessler writes that Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s Commencement address at MIT featured a call for graduates to help create more inclusive technologies and workplaces. “It’s not the technology you build that will define you. It’s the teams you build and what people do with the technology you build,” Sandberg advised.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg advocated for MIT graduates to be, “clear-eyed optimists” while speaking at MIT’s 2018 Commencement exercises, reports Ethan Wolff-Mann for Yahoo! Finance. “It’s not enough to be technologists. We have to make sure that technology serves people,” she said.

AP reporter Collin Binkley writes that during her Commencement address at MIT, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg called for equality in the technology sector. "Build workplaces where everyone — everyone — is treated with respect," she said. "We need to stop harassment and hold both perpetrators and enablers accountable. And we need to make a personal commitment to stop racism and sexism."