Upcoming Programs

MIT Club of Washington, DC and Alumni for Climate Action

Professor Maria Zuber on the MIT Climate Plans

October 15, 2024 6:15-8:00 EDT (hybrid, $5 - $40)

MIT Washington Office 1 Dupont Cir NW UNIT 410, Washington, DC

Come on-site or on-line for an evening on the development of MIT’s first two climate action plans. Professor Maria Zuber, E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics, was MIT VP of Research and the faculty lead of the initial 2015 MIT Plan for Climate Action and Fast Forward, the current 2021 update.

You can view the 2016 EESN interview with Professor Zuber about developing the initial plan here.

MIT Club of Boston and AMITA

An Evening with National Medal of Science Winner Professor Susan Solomon

Wednesday, Oct 23, 2024, 6:00-9:00 EDT (7:00 - 8:15 pm EDT, program streamed live,)

MIT Campus, Room 6-120

Come hear from EAPS Professor Susan Solomon about the critical work behind healing the ozone layer and its implications for future climate action. She recently published a book on this work and the public voice that led to the Montreal Protocol to protect the stratophere's protective ozone layer (only a few molecules thick!). This international treaty is controlling emissions of ozone-depleting CFCs, a triumph for understanding and acting on environmental harm caused by people.

Professor Solomon is a renowned voice in environmental science and leads a group working to understand the interactions between chemistry and climate. She was already well known for her research on the theory behind the chemistry of the ozone hole when she came to MIT in 2012 to the Ellen Swallow Richards professor chair.

Login to your Infinite Connection account to register. If you have trouble after that, contact EESN.

Around the EESNetwork

Alumna Bethany Patten, MBA '13, the new Executive Director of the MIT Sloan Climate Policy Center joined the MIT Alumni Climate Education and Advocacy group (CEA) bi-weekly meeting on September 30. She spoke about the Center's purpose and its plans to help researchers at Sloan and around MIT promote their findings to help policy-makers understand how innovations and various measures can accelerate climate solutions. The Center shares CEA's goal of educating and asking decisionmakers to keep the US moving quickly on the path to transitioning today's energy system. The conversation explored the opportunity for alums to work with the Center. Bethany indicated she would come back a few times a year to report on the Center's activities and progress and hear about what CEA is doing.

CEA Leader Tim Conners encourages interested alums to find out more at the CEA website. If you would like to join the group, his email is at the bottom of the page.

Does your MIT Club have the most Alums with...

home solar and electric cars?

The team for the EESN project to encourage adoption welcomes new members.

Help formulate surveys, write up challenges and get the project moving!

The National Solar Tour week is scheduled for October 4 - 6. (map of locations on the tour)

If you would like to join in the effort, please

Heard at the Alumni Leadership Conference (ALC)

Alums attending ALC on Sept 27 and 28 heard good news from from President Kornbluth and incoming MIT Alumni Association President Natalie Lorenz-Anderson '84 about climate goals and actions to transition to a clean energy future. The VP for Campus Services and Stewardship also spoke about MIT progress on MIT's Fast Forward Climate plan, including campus decarbonization. A consultant has proposed 17 pathways to Net Zero, none of which include the money-savings infrastructure solutions developed by the alums and students of the MACA MIT Campus Decarbonization Team. If you want to learn more about this or have some suggestions to offer, please contact John Dabels, (MBA) '79.

Alumni/ae News

After a well-attended program on electric monopoly utilities and your electric bill, the Class of 1971 electricity series will continue in November (date TBD), with a look at the US "grid." . Speakers will discuss how its infrastructure and economics need to change to integrate solar wind, and other decentralized energy generation more quickly and why. In the question and answer period. Check back at the Class website for info as well as slides from past event recordings and slides.

All you digital techies out there - want to apply your talents to climate? Alums in the EESNetwork are interested in forming a Sustainable Digital group. If this sounds like a way you would like to work with MIT alums on climate solutions, please send your name and interest to [email protected].

Serial entrepreneur Saul Griffith, SM '01, PhD '04, founder of Rewiring America and Otherlab spoke about Electrify Everything in an interview on the Cleaning Up podcast. He posted on the MIT Press website outlining the main topics of his book Electrify - "Yes and...What about" carbon sequestration, natural gas, fracking, geoengineering, carbon tax and more.

The Sloan Club of NY presents a 2-hr meeting on Nov 21 (6:30pm EDT, IRL only) The Challenging Realities of Climate Change. Griffin Smith, MCP '18 is one of the 2 speakers. $20 ticket. Register here.

DUSP Professor Roberto Ignacio Rigobon, PhD '97 is one of the authors of "Timing Sustainable Engagement in Real Asset Investments."

@ MIT

On October 8, the MIT Alumni Forum will present "Why AI Matters for Climate (in More Ways than One)" with MIT Professor Priya Donti. Some of her current research investigates control systems that can make power grids work with high-renewables input. She also is the cofounder of Climate Change AI.

Register for the 4:00 pm (EDT) webinar here.

MIT is making progress toward the milestone in its plan to reduce emissions 32% by 2030. The MIT Office of Sustainability (MOS) has produced a report on the 2023 status of the MIT decarbonization effort. Emissions were 14% below the 2014 baseline. Initiatives are underway, such as an AI pilot to improve building temperature settings and optimized ventilation and variable fume hood fans at the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Building (Bldg 68). A fall 2023 slide show presents an overview of the project.

Watch the ALC/MITAA Faculty Forum recording of Jason Jay, PhD '10, Director of the Sloan Sustainability Initiative. He presented "Choose Your Own Climate Future" at ALC in hybrid formate. Using the EnROADS simulation tool, Jason worked through the policy implications for limiting global warming to less then an increase of 1.5 oC.

The MIT Industrial Liaison Programs is a key to campus research. It is connected to many MIT sustainability researchers developing fuel alternatives and much more. ILP's partner in the Corporate Development office is the Startup Exchange, and they are presenting the 2024 MIT Sustainability Conference on October 22. The Lightning Talks on decarbonization and carbon storage include many MIT alum speakers, including Josh Santos-Heard '14, co-founder of Noya, working on affordable direct air carbon capture, and Daniel Stack, SM '17, PhD '21, cofounder of Electrified Thermal Solutions, creating heat temperature heat storage for industry and the grid. The ticket price for Accelerating the Transition to a Sustainable Future for MIT alums is $375; staff of the ILP member companies may attend in person or livestream for free.

Register for a free ILP Decarbonization webinar on Nov 7 11:00am (EDT) here.

Be part of the conversation !

Notes from around the world,

The UK just closed its last coal power plant, according to Fast Company, on October 3.

About EESN

Educate, Connect, and Act

The EESNetwork and its groups welcome all MIT alumni/ae to help make a difference in speeding up the transition to a clean sustainable economy and environmental restoration.

• New EESN home page
• EESN webinar list with links to available slides and recordings.
• MIT Links: Climate Portal, MITEI, ESI, CEEPR, Climate HQ, MITOS - DeCarbonizing the Campus.