Artificial Intimacy: Who Do We Become When We Talk to Machines?
MIT Alumni Association
MIT Alumni Association
MIT Alumni Association
Wednesday, April 30, 3:00pm - 4:00pm (America/New_York)
Event Details
Members of the Cardinal & Gray Society, Emma Rogers Society, and School of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences (SHASS) alumni are invited to hear from Sherry Turkle, the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology in the Program in Science. She will discuss her work at the intersection of psychology and AI and its effects on human connection.
Contact
Lizzie Army - earmy@mit.edu
Learn MoreMIT Sloan Club of New York
Thursday, May 1, 6:30pm - 9:00pm (America/New_York)
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Join the MIT Sloan Alumni Club of New York for the 2nd quarterly happy hour of 2025! Meet local alumni while enjoying elevated cocktails and food in the heart of Midtown.
Address
Cost
No cover. Pay for what you consume.
Cheers!
Stephen Gregory Barr
Social Chair
MIT Sloan Club of New York
Learn MoreMIT Alumni Association
Friday, May 2, 6:00pm - Sunday, May 4, 2:00pm (America/New_York)
MIT Alumni Association
Saturday, May 3, 11:45am - 9:00pm (America/New_York)
MIT Sloan Club of New York
Tuesday, May 13, 12:00pm - 1:00pm (America/New_York)
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MIT Alumni Association
Tuesday, May 20, 1:00pm - 2:00pm (America/New_York)
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Join researchers from MIT’s K. Lisa Yang Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Center as they share cutting-edge water and agriculture projects underway across the MENA region. Focused on creating solutions that can feed a growing society in the face of water stress, climate change, and energy limitations, the Yang GEAR Center has realized low-cost, renewable-powered technologies in drip irrigation and desalination that dramatically cut water and energy use while being cost effective for farmers. Now it’s time to bring them to market! Learn how the center’s pioneering approach is building resilience across the region—and how MIT alumni and friends can help drive lasting impact for low-resource communities across MENA.
Amos Winter
Germeshausen Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Director, K. Lisa Yang GEAR Center at MIT
Amos Winter leads MIT’s Yang GEAR Center, where he and his team engineer bold, high-performance, low-cost technologies that tackle critical challenges in water, agriculture, health, and energy in resource-limited settings. His work blends deep technical expertise with user-centered design and global partnerships to deliver real-world impact. Winter earned his PhD in MIT’s Mechanical Engineering Department before joining the faculty in 2012.
Mohamed Naouri
Hock E. Tan Postdoctoral Fellow, K. Lisa Yang GEAR Center at MIT
Mohamed Naouri designs smart, sustainable irrigation and desalination systems for smallholder farmers in North Africa and beyond. With a background in agricultural sciences and hands-on engineering and policy experience across Africa, Asia, and Canada, he brings a deep commitment to water access, farmer-led innovation, and scalable solutions tailored to local needs. Naouri holds dual PhDs from L'École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique d'Alger and Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II.
Fiona Grant
PhD candidate, Mechanical Engineering
Fiona Grant is a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering focused on designing solar-powered drip irrigation systems that meet the needs of farmers in resource-constrained and water-stressed environments. Before joining the Yang GEAR Center, she earned her SB and SM degrees in mechanical engineering at MIT. Grant has previously conducted research on small-scale desalination for villages in India, underwater vehicle propulsion, and the effects of dust deposition on solar plant production in the Atacama Desert. Her research interests include system optimization, controls, and human-centered design, and she is excited about bringing a multi-disciplinary engineering approach to address global climate challenges.
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Learn MoreClub of France
Tuesday, May 20, 7:00pm - 9:30pm (Europe/Paris)
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Dear Alumni,
We are very honored to welcome MIT Prof Moungi Bawendi 2023 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry in Paris https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moungi_Bawendi
Quantum dots, one of the first engineered nanomaterials, have become ubiquitous in displays and other applications. Professor Bawendi's talk will discuss their origin story, their development, and their applications. This is a story of curiosity-based science driving innovation and technological progress.
Moungi Bawendi is the Lester Wolfe Professor of Chemistry at MIT. His lab focuses on the science and applications of nanocrystals, especially semiconductor nanocrystal (aka quantum dots). Born in Paris, Bawendi emigrated to the United States as a child, and earned his bachelor's and master's Degrees from Harvard University. He went on to achieve a PhD in chemistry from the University of Chicago. After conducting postdoctoral research at Bell Labs, he joined the MIT Chemistry faculty in 1990. In 2023, Bawendi was named a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots".
We will have a sitting dinner with a composition of 3 themes to go along with the service - Each theme will have a presentation by the professor to be followed by questions from the assembly
1) Apetizer - the Early life and education
2) Entries - the Researcher life and The Quantum dots
3) Dessert: the Nobel Prize, MIT and the path forward
Frédéric Hannoyer and the MIT CdF Board
Bio:
Professor Moungi Bawendi, born in Paris, France, in 1961, is a distinguished chemist recognized for his groundbreaking work on quantum dots. After spending his early years in France and Tunisia, he moved to the United States, where he pursued higher education. He obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1988 and later conducted postdoctoral research at Bell Labs.
In 1990, Bawendi joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he became a professor in 1996. His most notable scientific contribution is the hot-injection synthesis of quantum dots, a breakthrough that enabled precise control over their size and properties, leading to wide-ranging applications in electronics, photovoltaics, and biomedical imaging.
For his pioneering work, Bawendi was awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, alongside Louis E. Brus and Alexey Ekimov, for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots. These nanomaterials are now essential in high-definition displays, energy-efficient lighting, medical diagnostics, and solar energy technology, revolutionizing modern technology and holding great potential for future innovations in medicine, renewable energy, and quantum computing,
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Club of France
Thursday, May 22, 7:30pm - 7:30pm (Europe/Paris)
Event Details
Dear Alumni,
Invitation to the HumAIn Salon: Exploring AI, People, and the Future of Work
We are pleased to invite you the 4th edition of our NEW AI event : the HumAIn Salon. This is a recurring series of human-size in-person events dedicated to exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence, human factors, including the future of work. This intimate gathering (~30p max) will occur every one to two months, bringing together a small group of participants for in-depth discussions on these critical topics.
Theme: “HumAIn Intelligence: AI, People, and the Future of Work”
Format: Serial meetups featuring a blend of expert presentations and interactive exchanges
Salon Host : Léa Peersman, MIT Sloan graduate, researcher, founder of HI Lab,
Guest Speakers: Every session will feature a guest speaker from the fields of AI research, cognitive sciences, sociology, and startups, sparking the discussions and guiding our exploration.
This is a conference where we expect you to participate and share your vision! The HumAIn Salon is a collaborative forum where every voice matters, and your insights are critical to shaping our understanding of the intersection between AI and human experiences.
Join us for an engaging discussion and dinner
We look forward to welcoming you to this enriching and thought-provoking series.
Specific Mar 25th Event Details:
Date: 25 March 2025
Time: 19:30 – 22:30
Venue: Restaurant Vauban, facing Les Invalides, 7th arrondissement, Paris
Guest Speakers:
This session will explore the core question:
“Rethinking Resilience: Fostering Ingenuity in a World of Crises and AI”
In a world facing crises on every level—wars in Europe, climate change — are we, as a Nation, truly prepared to become resilient? Is our generation ready to invent in a world without abundance? To create using only what is available?
In the era of Artificial Intelligence, what is the defining value of humanity? Is it not creativity, the ability to invent, to be ingenious, to think outside the box? We think through our bodies, our space, our emotions. Our perception is the key to our ability to evolve by acting upon the world—it forces us to confront reality and, therefore, compels us to invent.
I deeply believe that, given the current context, we must rethink our societies — from a model of hyper-specialization of skills to a world of well-rounded individuals. This shift has already begun through the widespread adoption of soft skills training for better collective living. Today, it is time to train our future generations of engineers to become modern-day MacGyvers.
Over an informal dinner, Clement and Lea will share their vision and let us exchange and share.
Registration: To attend, you only pay for your dinner (3 course-meal) - please register on the MIT website. Limited Seating the dinner is at 55€ and you pay forward to reserve your seat - We'll refund you if you cannot attend and tell us upfront.
We look forward to your participation in this important discussion.
Best regards,
Lea Peersman and Frédéric Hannoyer
MIT CdF Board member & MIT CdF President
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MIT Alumni Association
Thursday, May 29, 12:00am - Sunday, June 1, 12:00am (America/New_York)
MIT Alumni Association
Saturday, May 31, 9:00am - 12:00pm (America/New_York)
Event Details
The MIT Alumni Community is invited to join us for the live Technology Day webcasts on Saturday, June 1, part of the Tech Reunions weekend celebration.
Learn MoreMIT Sloan Club of New York
Thursday, June 5, 12:00pm - 1:00pm (America/New_York)
Event Details
Join us for a panel discussion hearing from three MIT and MIT Sloan alumni on their experiences on the popular American television show, Shark Tank. Our panel will discuss their ventures, being on the show negotiating with the sharks, and running their businesses after the show.
This is a great opportunity to learn more about this unique experience and support MIT founders.
Hear from a panel of MIT and MIT Sloan alumni:
Mollie (Chung) Cha, Co-Founder of Must Love, MIT Sloan MBA ‘15
Kelly McGee, Co-Founder of Yardsale, MIT ‘17
Amrita Saigal, Founder of Kudos, MIT ‘10
Moderator: Asha Aravindakshan, MIT Sloan Fellow MBA ‘17
Panelists:
Mollie (Chung) Cha, co-founded plant-based food and beverage brand Must Love (formerly known as Hakuna Brands), with her best friend from college. She is based in Los Angeles, CA. Mollie graduated with her M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Mollie appeared on Shark Tank in January 2022. You can watch the 9 mins video clip here.
Kelly McGee, co-founded sports equipment and lifestyle brand Yardsale. He is based in San Francisco, CA. Kelly graduated with his S.B. in Mechanical Engineering and Product Design from MIT.
Kelly appeared on Shark Tank in November 2024. You can watch the 22 mins video clip (with commentary) here.
Amrita Saigal founded sustainable diaper manufacturer Kudos. She is based in Los Angeles, CA. Amrita graduated with her S.B. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Amrita appeared on Shark Tank in January 2023. You can watch a 6 mins video clip here and read this recent Slice of MIT article.
Moderator:
Asha Aravindakshan, MIT Sloan Fellow MBA ‘17
Asha Aravindakshan (@dcasha) is the COO of GlobalGiving and the author of Skills: The Common Denominator, which highlights true stories of transferable skills for career success. Previously, she streamlined business operations to maximize accountability, growth and strategic alignment for public and private stakeholders.
Asha serves on the Board of Directors for MIT Sloan Club of New York, the Alumni Leadership Council for Forté, and as a Venture Partner for Verve Ventures. She’s presented at conferences in the Americas and is the recipient of awards on digital transformation and future of work. Asha studied business at The George Washington University and MIT Sloan School of Management.
She is an avid Shark Tank viewer and purveyor of the show’s products.
Event Agenda
MIT Sloan Club of New York
Tuesday, June 10, 6:00pm - 7:30pm (America/New_York)
Event Details
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