MIT comes to NYC

A Neoclassical Look at Behavioral Finance

Stephen A. Ross
Franco Modigliani Professor of Finance and Economics

There are a growing number of unusual and anomalous observations in financial markets that seem at odds with the basic tenets of economics, and there is a parallel and growing interest in using psychology to try to explain them. Despite the surface appeal of explaining these phenomena as manifestations of human irrationality, I take a skeptical view of psychologically based explanations of economic phenomena and, more generally, of the role of psychology in economics and finance. Whatever one's views, though, the phenomena themselves are wonderful puzzles and fun to think about.

Schedule

6:00 pm Doors open; 6:30 pm Presentation

Location

Credit Suisse
11 Madison Avenue
New York, NY
Enter at corner of 24th St., Ante Room

Global Resources and the Built Environment

John E. Fernandez '85
Associate Professor of Building Technology

In our time, human consumption has surpassed global resources. Today half the world's population lives in cities, the source of 80 percent of global carbon emissions. The built environment consumes vast energy and material resources and prospects for improvement are difficult to implement. However, we do have choices, both in design and technology that could bring enormous energy and material savings. These savings would significantly affect the total societal metabolism of our modern world for many decades to come.

Schedule

6:00 pm Doors open; 6:30 pm Presentation

Location

Pfizer
235 East 42nd Street
on 2nd floor in the Tudor Room
New York, N.Y. 10017

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Redefining Sustainability

Richard M. Locke PhD '89
Alvin J. Siteman Professor of Entrepreneurship, Professor of Political Science

Up until now we have considered aspects of sustainability – climate, energy, water, food, poverty, and social development in isolation. MIT´s Sustainability Lab is developing an integrated framework to consider the system–wide dynamics of human society along with tools and methodologies for measuring and monitoring sustainability efforts and their applications.

Schedule

6:00 pm Doors open; 6:30 pm Presentation

Register Online Now

Location

Offices of Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP
875 Third Avenue
between 52nd and 53rd Streets
New York, NY

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Genomic Variation and the Inherited Basis of Common Disease

David M. Altshuler '86
Associate Professor of Genetics and Medicine, Broad Institute of Harvard University and MIT

Professor David Altshuler from the Broad Institute will take us behind the scenes in MIT's newest efforts to bring advancements from the human genome project into the clinical realm.

Schedule

6:00 pm Doors open; 6:30 pm Presentation

Register Online Now

Location

Pfizer
235 East 42nd Street
on 2nd floor in the Tudor Room
New York, N.Y. 10017

Monday,
May 12,
2008

Extrasolar Planets and the Search for Habitable Worlds

Sara Seager
Professor of Physics, MIT
Ellen Swallow Richards Associate Professor of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciecnes

For thousands of years people have wondered, “Are we alone?” With over 250 exoplanets known to orbit nearby stars, this question has moved from science fiction to mainstream science. Now that their existence is firmly established, a new era of “exoplanet characterization” has begun. A subset of exoplanets —called transiting planets— pass in front of their stars as seen from Earth. Transiting planets have opened a whole new opportunity for exoplanets, because their physical properties, including average density and basic atmospheric properties, can now be routinely measured. The race to find habitable exoplanets has accelerated with the realization that transiting super Earths orbiting small stars can be both discovered and characterized with current technology. These ideas will lead us down a path to the ultimate goal of finding and identifying Earth–twins orbiting sun–like stars.

Schedule

6:00 pm Doors open; 6:30 pm Presentation

Register Online Now

Location

Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center
Central Park West & 79th Street
New York, NY 10024