Faculty Forum Online Evening Edition: MIT at Work in the World, Oct. 23, 2013

Update: Watch the Oct. 23 webcast.

Solving real-world problems is synonymous with MIT—and that challenge has fired the imaginations of students, faculty, and alumni for decades.

In a special evening edition of Faculty Forum Online, the Alumni Association will explore how MIT is moving mens et manus into the 21st century. On October 23, Chancellor Eric Grimson PhD ’80, Dean for Graduate Education Christine Ortiz, and Public Service Center Director Sally Susnowitz will discuss the catalytic role that service projects play in the lives of MIT students and how MIT is expanding these opportunities.

Following their comments, Grimson, Ortiz, and Susnowitz will take questions from the worldwide MIT community. The event will take place Wednesday, October 23, at a special time of 6:00–7:00 p.m. (EDT).

Register now for this free event—MIT at Work in the World—then return to Slice of MIT blog and continue the conversation in the comments.

Eric Grimson PhD '80 A member of the MIT faculty since 1984, Eric Grimson served as head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from 2005 to 2011, as its associate department head from 2004 to 2005, and as its education officer from 2001 to 2004. He was named Chancellor of MIT in 2011.

Grimson is internationally recognized for his research in computer vision, especially in applications in medical image analysis. He has taught some 10,000 MIT undergraduates and served as the thesis supervisor to almost 50 MIT PhDs.

Christine Ortiz Christine Ortiz is the Dean for Graduate Education and a professor of materials science and engineering at MIT.

She has over 150 scientific publications in more than 20 academic journals, has supervised 80 students and seven postdoctoral research associates from 10 different academic disciplines. Ortiz has received over 30 national and international honors, including the National Science Foundation Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which was presented to her by President George W. Bush.

Sally Susnowitz Sally Susnowitz has served as Director of the MIT Public Service Center (PSC) since 2000. She has co-developed many of the Center's programs and initiatives, including the MIT IDEAS Global Challenge, which involves hundreds of MIT students in innovative social entrepreneurship each year.

Before MIT, Sally served as Director of the Service Learning Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and has spent more than 20 years as a scientific and technical writing teacher at several universities including CU-Boulder, CU-Denver, and the Colorado School of Mines.

MORE ABOUT THE MIT PUBLIC SERVICE CENTER "Building a Better World: The Public Service Center celebrates 25 year," MIT Technology Review Public Service Center homepage