aspuru-list April 2010

aspuru-list@lists.fas.harvard.edu

17 participants
74 discussions

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] Talk tomorrow by postdoctoral candidate

by Alejandro Perdomo

Dear group, Tomorrow Thursday, at 2:30pm in the Division Room (M102), we will have a talk by Tamar Mentzel, a postdoctoral candidate from the Kastner group (MIT). Tamar's background is mostly in experimental work. She is now interested in doing research in simulation/modeling. Please find below the title and abstract of her talk. Tamar Mentzel, Kastner group (MIT) *Charge Transport in Lead Selenide Nanocrystal Quantum Dots* Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals can be made to self-assemble into a close-packed array, creating a novel material known as a nanocrystal solid. In particular, PbSe nanocrystal solids have garnered much attention for their application in solar cells and as tunable infrared photodetectors. We are interested in understanding the nature of charge transport through PbSe nanocrystals because it is necessary for their application in optoelectronic devices and to better understand this novel material. We perform electronic transport measurements on a PbSe nanocrystal solid, which serves as the channel of a field-effect transistor. We find that the conduction is strongly dependent on both temperature and applied field and that this can be described by a model of hopping between localized states. The activation energy to conduction is attributed to both the energy to generate charge carriers and to disorder. From the field effect data, we extract a density of states, which is consistent with predicted values, thereby validating our model. We also extract a value for the Thomas-Fermi length from our data. Cheers, -A -- Alejandro Perdomo-Ortiz Ph.D. Candidate in Chemical Physics. Harvard University 12 Oxford St #482, Cambridge, MA, 02138. perdomo(a)fas.harvard.edu

14 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] [theochem-announce] Roger Kamm at MIT TODAY 56-154

by Lee-Ping

Dear All, Professor Roger Kamm, from the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering, is presenting a theoretical chemistry seminar TODAY (Wednesday, April 21) from 4:00-6:00pm in ROOM 56-154. The title of his talk will be "Models for Cytoskeletal Rheology." -- ABSTRACT -- Spanning a period of several decades, there have been several models proposed for the elasticity or viscoelasticity of the cytoskeleton. In addition, there have been numerous experiments using cells and reconstituted actin gels, with or without cross-linkers and motor proteins, designed to characterize the rheology of actin networks under various conditions. Still, debates continue regarding the contributions of various potential mechanisms (filament bending stiffness, thermal fluctuations, filament extensional stiffness, cross-linker stiffness, cross-link binding and unbinding) to cell viscoelasticity, and which model (semiflexible polymer network, tensed network, cellular solids) is best able to capture the measured characteristics. Here, we use a computational model of a thermally-active cross-linked, three-dimensional network to probe the important factors and discuss these in the context of the different models. We conclude that thermal fluctuations are not important at normal actin concentrations in the cytoskeleton, in contrast to the semiflexible polymer network theory. But both the cellular solids and tensed network models fail to capture some of the salient mechanical features. For cross-linked networks under prestress, the tensed network model appears most consistent with the results of our simulations. However, currently no single model satisfactorily captures viscoelastic behaviors of actin networks over a wide range of conditions. Our simulation scheme provides a basis for delineating multiple mechanisms involved in this complex system. Thanks! Lee-Ping _______________________________________________ theochem-announce mailing list theochem-announce(a)mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/theochem-announce

14 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] drinking water

by Anna B. Shin

Dear Group, As of today, the Heller and Shakhnovich groups will handle their own bottled water supply, i.e., our keys won't open M110 anymore. Now we must fend for ourselves and find our own clean water source. I suggest using the tap water from the kitchen. Anna Anna B. Shin Laboratory Administrator Aspuru-Guzik Research Group Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University 12 Oxford Street Cambridge, MA 02138 617.496.9964 office 617.694.9879 cell 617.496.9411 fax http://aspuru.chem.harvard.edu/

14 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] Reminder: Quantum Beer -Tomorrow (wednesday), 8pm at Cambridge Brewing Company

by Cesar A. Rodriguez-Rosario

Dear Quanta in the Boston Area: Don't miss the second *Quantum Beer Night.* t = *Tomorrow (Wednesday April 21st) at 8:00pm* <x> = *Cambridge Brewing Co.* http://www.cambridgebrewing.com/ *1 Kendall Square, Bldg 100 Cambridge, MA 02139* http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=cambridge+brewi… At the last Quantum Beer, a big group of quantum computing people from all over Boston enjoyed Belgium food and drinks at Publick House. We decided to switch venues every time to keep things interesting. This time, we will meet at CBC, where they brew their own beer. Cesar -- Cesar A. Rodriguez-Rosario, Postdoctoral Fellow Harvard University Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Box#34 12 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA rodriguez(a)chemistry.harvard.edu

14 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] [iic-colloquium] Reminder of Colloquium tomorrow: "Discovering Celestial Objects with Machine Learning" with Pavlos Protopapas

by Rosalind Reid

A reminder of tomorrow's Colloquium by Pavlos Protopapas of the IIC's Time Series Center. *********************** Discovering Celestial Objects with Machine Learning April 21, 2010, 4:00 pm Room G-115, Maxwell Dworkin, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge Pavlos Protopapas, Research Associate, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and Associate of SEAS Abstract As new instruments and technologies are employed to scan the universe, an exponential increase in data is overwhelming astronomers. Traditional analytical methods do not scale to these massive data rates, and so machine learning techniques are called to the rescue. This talk will present examples of how machine learning is used in the Time Series Center to discover new objects in the sky—new variable stars, new quasars and objects at the very edge of our solar system. These discoveries are helping shape our understanding of the universe we live in and are possible only with advanced machine learning methods. About the Speaker Pavlos Protopapas earned his B.Sc. in physics at Imperial College in 1990 and received his Ph.D. in theoretical nuclear physics in 1996 from the University of Pennsylvania, where his thesis provided a solution to the Coriolis attenuation problem, an unsolved problem for over 40 years. He served as the associate director of the National Scalable Cluster Project collaboration, one of the initial attempts at large-scale distributed computing on a grid-like model. His major contribution at NSCP was the creation of the National Digital Mammography Archive. After the completion of the technology transfer for NDMA to IBM in 2001, he began working on large databases and data mining in astronomy. He is a member of the outer solar system team for Pan-STARRS and the data pipeline team on the TAOS project. At the IIC, he directs the Time Series Center, an interdisciplinary team cataloging and finding interesting phenomena in what will become the largest collection of light curves in the world and applying computational techniques to other types of time series. He is the author of many refereed publications, ranging from nuclear physics to astronomy and computer science. In recognition of his joint CfA-IIC role, he is an Associate of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. __________ Refreshments served at 3:45 pm __________ Mark your calendar for these upcoming IIC Colloquia: Wednesday, Apr. 28: Daniel Janies, Biomedical Informatics, Ohio State University Wednesday, May 5: Jeannette M. Wing, National Science Foundation For more information about IIC colloquia and other events : http://iic.harvard.edu/events/upcoming _______________________________________________ iic-colloquium mailing list iic-colloquium(a)seas.harvard.edu https://lists.deas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/iic-colloquium

14 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] [qip] Tuesday not

by Edward Farhi

Dear QIP Quanta There will be no meeting on tomorrow, Tuesday. Eddie ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Edward Farhi Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics Director Center for Theoretical Physics 6-300 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge MA 02139 617 253 4871 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: _______________________________________________ qip mailing list qip(a)mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/qip

14 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] borrowing books at MIT

by J D Whitfield

Message: 1 Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:53:06 -0400 From: "Alyssa Bittner-Gibbs" <abittner(a)fas.harvard.edu> Subject: [MOOSE] Library Privileges at MIT Libraries To: <moose-droppings(a)lists.hcs.harvard.edu> Message-ID: <004101cadbe2$30c88560$ 92599020$(a)harvard.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Harvard students can now obtain borrowing <http://hcl.harvard.edu/info/borrowing/mit_library_privileges.cfm> privileges at MIT Libraries. Apply <https://hcl.harvard.edu:8001/forms/requests/mit_privileges.cfm> online or at the Library Privileges Office in Widener Library (M-F, 9am-4:45pm). J. D. Whitfield Aspuru-Guzik Group Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Harvard University tel: 301-520-7847 web: aspuru.chem.harvard.edu/people/James_Whitfield

14 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] Excitonics sign-up.

by Alan Aspuru-Guzik

Dear group members that are part of the Excitonics, Please sign up if you haven't done so. http://www.doodle.com/zt6bkqt8dzqdwvw2 Alán Aspuru-Guzik | Assistant Professor Harvard University | Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology 12 Oxford Street, Room M113 | Cambridge, MA 02138 (617)-384-8188 | http://aspuru.chem.harvard.edu

14 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] HUCE Weekly Calendar Email April 15 - 29

by Center for the Environment

Highlights: April 19-23: Join the Harvard community in celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day at events and activities across campus, culminating in the Green Carpet Awards on April 23. April 21-23: The Infrastructure Sustainability and Design Conference at the Graduate School of Design will identify many challenges of sustainability, including the need for infrastructure rehabilitation in developed countries. April 22: Mary Power, Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley joins us for the final HUCE lecture on Biodiversity, Ecology, and Global Change. Calendar Listings: April 15, 2010 Deadline to submit to the Harvard Green Video Competition Harvard’s Office for Sustainability is sponsoring a competition for short video clips highlighting how individual actions can help reduce environmental impacts at Harvard. http://www.green.harvard.edu/greencarpet 6:00pm Evolution Matters Lecture Series Geological Museum Lecture Hall 24 Oxford Street Cambridge, MA "The Evolutionary and Genetic Basis of Human Reproduction." Public Lecture by David Page, Director of the Whitehead Institute and Professor of Biology at MIT. hmnh(a)oeb.harvard.edu 617-495-2773 April 16, 2010 - April 17, 2010 (All day) Tufts Energy Conference 2010: The Evolution of Energy Tufts University Medford, MA The Tufts Energy Conference 2010 brings together leading energy experts and the Tufts community to showcase and discuss innovative solutions to current and developing energy challenges. http://www.tuftsenergyconference.com/ April 16, 2010 8:45am - 9:30am MSI Chalktalk Breakfast HUCE Seminar Room 24 Oxford Street, 3rd Floor Cambridge, MA "Why are there so many pneumococcal serotypes?" Marc Lipsitch, Harvard School of Public Health. MSI-Info(a)hms.harvard.edu 10:00am - 11:15am Belfer Center Seminar Belfer Center Library (L369) 79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA "Russia and the Geopolitics of Gas." Senator Mikhail Margelov, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council of Russia. Moderated by Meghan L. O’Sullivan, Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs April 16, 2010 12:30pm - 2:00pm HSPH Biostatistics Environmental Statistics Seminar SPH2 426 Boston, MA "Bayesian Spatial Quantile Regression." Brian Reich, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University. AMAITY(a)hsph.harvard.edu 1:30pm Solid Earth Physics Seminar 4th Floor Faculty Lounge Hoffman Laboratory 20 Oxford St. Cambridge, MA Jenny Suckale, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, MIT. April 17, 2010 8:45am - 5:00pm Microbial Sciences Initiative Annual Symposium Radcliffe Gymnasium Harvard University Cambridge, MA Visit the MSI website to learn more about the speakers and presentations. http://www.msi.harvard.edu 10:00am - 2:00pm Charles River Clean-Up Join the IOP, Harvard Dems, Harvard Republicans, and EAC as we clear invasive species and clean up the banks of the Charles. https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dFlKaXVPdVBlYkVmbDlo…... 11:00am - 4:00pm The First Harvard Garden Community Workday Harvard Garden, in front of Lowell House Mt. Auburn Street Cambridge, MA Come out starting at 11 AM to help move soil, fill our newly-built raised beds, and start some spring planting. http://green.harvard.edu/garden April 18, 2010 2:00pm - 4:00pm Presentation and Book Signing - Carlo Petrini: Founder of Slow Food Science Center Lecture Hall B Harvard University 1 Oxford St. Cambridge, MA In Terra Madre, Petrini shows us a solution in the thousands of newly formed local alliances between food producers and food consumers. And he proposes expanding these alliances - connecting regional food communities around the world to promote good, clean, and fair food. https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEw1NjY3aEZIRy1oYzc2X2dGZV… April 19, 2010 - April 23, 2010 Earth Week: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day at Harvard Join the Harvard community in celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day at events and activities across campus the week of April 19th-23rd. http://green.harvard.edu/earthweek April 19, 2010 12:00pm - 1:00pm OEB Faculty Search Candidate Seminar Biological Laboratories Main Lecture Hall 16 Divinity Avenue Cambridge, MA "Genetic Connectivity in Deep-Sea Island Ecosystems." Amy Baco-Taylor, Florida State University. http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/news_events/seminars.html Contact Name: Jeannette Everritt jeverritt(a)oeb.harvard.edu 12:00pm - 1:00pm Harvard Energy Journal Club HUCE Seminar Room 24 Oxford St., 3rd Floor Cambridge, MA Visit the Energy Journal website for updates and topics of discussion. http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hejc/ Contact Name: Kate Dennis kdennis(a)fas.harvard.edu 4:00pm EPS Spring Colloquium Haller Hall (Geo-Museum 102) 24 Oxford Street Cambridge, MA "Turbulence in Planetary Atmospheres." Brian Farrell, Harvard University. Contact Name: Ganna Savostyanova ganna(a)eps.harvard.edu April 20, 2010 2:30pm - 4:00pm Energy Policy Seminar Series Bell Hall - Belfer Building Harvard Kennedy School 79 JFK St. Cambridge, MA "Climate Change Mitigation as a Stimulus for Expanding Rural Energy Access in India." Balachandra Patil. Research Fellow, ETIP. Contact Name: Louisa Lund louisa_lund(a)hks.harvard.edu 4:00pm Project on Justice, Welfare & Economics CGIS S020 1730 Cambridge St. "The Ethics and Economics of Intergenerational Distribution in a Warming Planet." Speaker, John Roemer (Yale University) http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/jwe/ Contact Name: Jessica Barnard jbarnard(a)wcfia.harvard.edu 617-495-8923 April 21, 2010 - April 23, 2010 Harvard University Graduate School of Design: Zofnass Program for Infrastructure Sustainability Harvard University Graduate School of Design 48 Quincy Street Cambridge, Massachusetts Supporting the development, distribution, and adoption of an independent, third-party benchmark for the sustainability of infrastructure and large-scale projects. Registration required. http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/infrastructuresustainability April 21, 2010 5:00pm Film Screening - "Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy" Kirsch Auditorium MIT Stata Center (32-123) Cambridge, MA Marine biologist-turned filmmaker Randy Olson will be on hand to present his film, field audience questions and sign copies of his new book "Don’t Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style." https://events.mit.edu/event.html?id=11610304&date=2010/04/21 Contact Name: Kurt Sternlof kurtster(a)mit.edu 617-253-6895 April 22, 2010 11:45am - 1:00pm Ecology Journal Club HUCE Meeting Room 318 24 Oxford St., 3rd Floor Cambridge, MA Special guest speaker: Mary Power, Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley. Reading and discussion group on diverse topics in ecology. Visit the website for topics of discussion. All interested researchers are welcome and lunch is provided. http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/faculty/pringle/journalclub.htm Contact Name: Primrose Boynton pboynton(a)fas.harvard.edu 5:00pm Biodiversity, Ecology, and Global Change Biolabs Lecture Hall 16 Divinity Ave Harvard University Cambridge, MA “Food Webs Down River Networks: Towards Predictive Mapping.” Mary Power, Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley. Reception to follow. Contact Name: Lisa Matthews lisa_matthews(a)harvard.edu 617-495-8883 6:30pm - 8:00pm Talking Science in an Age of Sound Bites Kirsch Auditorium (32-123) MIT Stata Center Cambridge, MA In this polarized, populist world of IT overload—this Age of Sound Bites—communicating science to the public and policymakers alike has never been more challenging. Our distinguished and lively panel will dive in and dig for answers: Registration required. http://events.mit.edu/event.html?id=11610303&date=2010/04/22 Contact Name: Kurt Sternlof kurtster(a)mit.edu April 23, 2010 (All day) MIT Sustainability Summit Microsoft New England Research and Development Center One Memorial Drive Suite 100 Cambridge, MA "Mind the Gap: Communicate and Collaborate for a Sustainable World" 40 confirmed panelists and facilitators for 14 breakout sessions. Registration required. http://sustainabilitysummit.mit.edu/info/mind-gap April 23, 2010 3:00pm Harvard Green Carpet Awards Sanders Theater Memorial Hall Harvard Yard Cambridge, MA Join us for the first annual Harvard Green Carpet Awards, where we will honor the many staff, students, and faculty from across the Schools and units who have made significant contributions to Harvard’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Goal and other sustainability efforts. The http://www.green.harvard.edu/greencarpet Contact Name: Dara Olmsted, LEED AP 617.496.4678 event is open to the entire University April 24, 2010 (All day) - May 2, 2010 (All day) Cambridge Science Festival The Cambridge Science Festival is a celebration showcasing Cambridge as an internationally recognized leader in science, technology, engineering and math. A multifaceted, multicultural event every spring, the Cambridge Science Festival makes science accessible, interactive and fun for everyone! http://www.cambridgesciencefestival.org/Home.aspx April 25, 2010 2:00pm Desert, Mountain, Rainforest: Science Around the Globe with Harvard Students Harvard Museum of Natural History 26 Oxford Street Cambridge, MA While many college students spend their breaks on the beach and ski slope, Harvard undergrads frequently travel to exotic locations to conduct research in biology and geology. Join us for a presentation by three Harvard students about their recent travels. http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu hmnh(a)oeb.harvard.edu April 26, 2010 12:00pm - 1:00pm OEB Faculty Search Candidate Seminar HUH Seminar Room 22 Divinity Avenue Cambridge, MA "A glimpse into the pelagic abyss: discovery, observation and evolution of midwater animals." Karen Osborn, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/news_events/seminars.html Contact Name: Jeannette Everritt jeverritt(a)oeb.harvard.edu 12:00pm - 1:00pm Harvard Energy Journal Club HUCE Seminar Room 24 Oxford St., 3rd Floor Cambridge, MA Visit the Energy Journal website for updates and topics of discussion. http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hejc/ Contact Name: Kate Dennis kdennis(a)fas.harvard.edu April 27, 2010 11:00am - 12:30pm Inclusive Wealth, Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services Bell Hall - 5th floor Belfer Building Harvard Kennedy School 79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA Steve Polasky, Lampert Professor of Ecological/Environmental Economics in the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Minnesota and Discussant: Steven Carpenter, Stephen Alfred Forbes Professor of Zoology and Director of the Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin-Madison. http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/cid/programs/sustsci/events/seminars/fro…... Contact Name: Nancy Dickson nancy_dickson(a)harvard.edu 2:30pm - 4:00pm Energy Policy Seminar Series Bell Hall - Belfer Building Harvard Kennedy School 79 JFK St. Cambridge, MA "Not Dead Yet: The Internal Combustion Engine and The Determinants of Performance." Prof. Dan Snow, Harvard Business School. 4:00pm The Future of Energy: Marvin Odum - Shell Science Center Lecture Hall D One Oxford St. Cambridge, MA "The Future of Energy: Five Things we're Excited About.” Marvin E. Odum is President of Shell Oil Company and became Director of the Upstream Americas business (which is currently under formation) with effect from July 1, 2009. Contact Name: Lisa Matthews lisa_matthews(a)harvard.edu 617-495-8883 6:00pm Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do About It Brattle Theatre 40 Brattle Street Cambridge Harvard Book Store is delighted to welcome a mother and daughter who have revolutionized the way we think about food, hunger and climate change. http://www.harvard.com/events/press_release.php?id=2515 April 28, 2010 6:00pm New Directions in EcoPlanning Annual Lecture Geological Museum Lecture Hall 24 Oxford Street Cambridge, MA "Defining an Environmental Vocabulary." Public Lecture by Jane Wolff. Jane Wolff (AB '85, GSD, ’92), director of the landscape architecture program at the University of Toronto, addresses the intersection of ecology, design, public education, and grassroots advocacy in intensely inhabited landscapes. http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/lectures-classes-events/new-directions-10.html hmnh(a)oeb.harvard.edu 617.495.3045 April 29, 2010 (All day) - April 30, 2010 (All day) 6th Harvard Plant Biology Symposium American Academy of Arts and Sciences 136 Irving Street Cambridge, MA "Trees and the Global Environment." Free and open to the public; lunch provided for registered participants. http://www.pbi.fas.harvard.edu/events.htm April 29, 2010 11:45am - 1:00pm Ecology Journal Club HUCE Meeting Room 318 24 Oxford St., 3rd Floor Cambridge, MA Reading and discussion group on diverse topics in ecology. Visit the website for topics of discussion. All interested researchers are welcome and lunch is provided. http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/faculty/pringle/journalclub.htm Contact Name: Primrose Boynton pboynton(a)fas.harvard.edu 7:30pm Global Warming, End of Oil, Perfect Storm Cary Hall 1605 Massachusetts Ave. Lexington, MA Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow In Residence at the Post-Carbon Institute and one of the world's foremost peak oil educators, will discuss how the rapid depletion of fossil fuels and accelerating global climate disruption are creating unprecedented challenges for global society in the twenty-first century. All are welcome. $5 donation requested. http://www.lexgwac.org info(a)lexgwac.org 781-674-2339 --- Always check the calendar on the website for updated information. If you would like to submit an event to the calendar, contact Lisa Matthews at the Center for the Environment: lisa_matthews(a)harvard.edu. Be sure to sign up to receive the HUCE newsletter. You are receiving this email because you indicated interest in Harvard University Center for the Environment events. [86]Unsubscribe aspuru-list(a)lists.fas.harvard.edu from this list. Links: 86. http://harvard.us1.list-manage2.com/unsubscribe?u=7532d1fbf18f39219ac742ebe… Our mailing address is: 24 Oxford St. Cambridge, MA 02138 (T) 617-495-0368 www.environment.harvard.edu Copyright (C) 2008 Harvard University. All rights reserved.

14 years

[Aspuru-Guzik group list] [iic-colloquium] IIC Colloquium: "Discovering Celestial Objects with Machine Learning" with Pavlos Protopapas

by Rosalind Reid

You are cordially invited to next Wednesday's IIC Colloquium, to be given by Pavlos Protopapas of the IIC's Time Series Center. *********************** Discovering Celestial Objects with Machine Learning April 21, 2010, 4:00 pm Room G-115, Maxwell Dworkin, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge Pavlos Protopapas, Research Associate, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and Associate of SEAS Abstract As new instruments and technologies are employed to scan the universe, an exponential increase in data is overwhelming astronomers. Traditional analytical methods do not scale to these massive data rates, and so machine learning techniques are called to the rescue. This talk will present examples of how machine learning is used in the Time Series Center to discover new objects in the sky—new variable stars, new quasars and objects at the very edge of our solar system. These discoveries are helping shape our understanding of the universe we live in and are possible only with advanced machine learning methods. About the Speaker Pavlos Protopapas earned his B.Sc. in physics at Imperial College in 1990 and received his Ph.D. in theoretical nuclear physics in 1996 from the University of Pennsylvania, where his thesis provided a solution to the Coriolis attenuation problem, an unsolved problem for over 40 years. He served as the associate director of the National Scalable Cluster Project collaboration, one of the initial attempts at large-scale distributed computing on a grid-like model. His major contribution at NSCP was the creation of the National Digital Mammography Archive. After the completion of the technology transfer for NDMA to IBM in 2001, he began working on large databases and data mining in astronomy. He is a member of the outer solar system team for Pan-STARRS and the data pipeline team on the TAOS project. At the IIC, he directs the Time Series Center, an interdisciplinary team cataloging and finding interesting phenomena in what will become the largest collection of light curves in the world and applying computational techniques to other types of time series. He is the author of many refereed publications, ranging from nuclear physics to astronomy and computer science. In recognition of his joint CfA-IIC role, he is an Associate of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. __________ Refreshments served at 3:45 pm __________ Mark your calendar for these upcoming IIC Colloquia: Wednesday, Apr. 28: Daniel Janies, Biomedical Informatics, Ohio State University Wednesday, May 5: Jeannette M. Wing, National Science Foundation For more information about IIC colloquia and other events : http://iic.harvard.edu/events/upcoming _______________________________________________ iic-colloquium mailing list iic-colloquium(a)seas.harvard.edu https://lists.deas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/iic-colloquium

14 years

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aspuru-list April 2010