MIT Science Policy Initiative

Our first book club of the year will be on Resilient Society by Markus Brunnermeier! The discussion will take place on Wednesday October 26 at 5pm. The book is *FREE* for everyone who attends the discussion (only available to MIT affiliated people, reimbursement instructions to follow after the meeting). For more information, check out the interest form.

It's an awesome read, look forward to a lively discussion!

SPI Fall '22 Book Club Interest form for Fall 2022 book club: Resilient Society by Markus Brunnermeier. Note this year we will *ONLY* be reimbursing books for those who attend the discussion on Wednesday, October 26th at 5 pm. Location 3-108, in person. We cannot reimburse tax & we will be reimbursing up to $25 from indep...

SPI is hosting a kickoff event TONIGHT (Thursday 9/15)! It will be from 5-7pm in the MIT Kendall open space (behind MIT medical). Come by for some Mamaleh’s sandwiches and to chat with people interested in science policy!

It's time to introduce out exec team for the upcoming year! We're starting off by spotlighting our new President, Laura Brandt, and our new External Relations chair, Emma Batson.

Laura Brandt is a PhD student from Wisconsin in the department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). Her research currently lies at the intersection of robot vision, vision science, and human cognition. In the past, she made electronics for Venus probes, built telescopes, and designed sensors that kept rocket engines from exploding. She holds a SM EECS from MIT and a BS EECS/BA Physics from UC Berkeley. Laura has previously served on the CSAIL Postdoc & Graduate Student Council (CPGSC).

Emma Batson is a 3rd year PhD student in electrical engineering researching superconducting detectors and other quantum-adjacent electronics. Before her PhD she worked with everything from CRISPR to plant pathology to power grid research. In her spare time, she is steadily developing a large collection of houseplants and getting more involved in the broader Cambridge community.

Tune in next week for more intros!

A reminder that this year's MIT SPI Congressional Visit Days (CVD)​ application is due TODAY at 5 PM EST! Join us in DC and speak directly with your congressional representatives' offices to advocate for basic science research.

Apply now!

2022 CVD Application *** Application Deadline: Wednesday, February 9th at 5 PM EST *** The MIT Science Policy Initiative will be coordinating our 2022 Congressional Visit Days (CVD) on April 4th and 5th. Through a seminar series in collaboration with the MIT Washington Office, you will learn how to schedule and lead con...

We recently wrapped up our Executive Visit Days (ExVD) program, where a group of MIT students spent three days meeting with 17 different executive branch agencies and policymakers! This year ExVD was held virtually, but in non-Covid years (hopefully next fall!) it’s fully in-person in Washington, D.C. Participants gained insight on the collaborative nature of policy making and how an MIT education can be put to use solving some of the hardest problems facing our country.
https://mitspi.squarespace.com/exvd

Mark your calendars for our Friday SciPol discussion series! 11am-noon ET on...
3/19 : Free Speech (https://forms.gle/e87BQsJk2vZxdeyYA)
4/16 : Open Access Science (https://forms.gle/D8HT7sMsjSYSZpVL6)
5/14 : Recycling (https://forms.gle/7VaiHu89aWGHUn7M8)

MIT SPI Friday Discussion Every month, the MIT Science Policy Initiative hosts a lunchtime discussion about special topics in science and technology policy. So bring your lunch and come ready to talk! This event is open to MIT affiliates. This month (May), the topic is The Reality of Recycling. When: Friday May 14 from 11am-...