Visit our website and events calendar for a complete listing of spring 2015 activities. Many of our events are captured on video and available to view on YouTube.

SSP Wednesday Seminars

The Security Studies Program's lunchtime lectures included: Jennifer Lind, from Dartmouth College, on "The Collapse of North Korea"; Christopher Chivers, from The New York Times, on "Military Small-Arms Distribution and the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq"; David Miliband, British Labour Party, MP, in a roundtable discussion on "The Future of Pakistan"; and Charles Glaser, from Georgetown University, on "International Security Implications of Energy Dependence and Vulnerability." A full list of SSP Seminars for spring 2011 is available here. 

CIS Shines at MIT 150

The Center participated in the MIT 150 Open House on Saturday, April 29, which attracted 20,000 visitors to campus. The CIS display included a poster session, videos, printed materials, and a challenge: "Ask us about the world!" Guiding the Center's Open House activities were the following faculty members: Barry Posen, Ford International Professor of Political Science and director, Security Studies Program (SSP); Cindy Williams, principal research scientist, SSP; and Stephen Van Evera, Ford International Professor of Political Science and associate director, CIS. 

MISTI's Global Seed Winners

A project to examine quark-gluon plasma and a study of computationally optimized photovoltaics are among the 46 international faculty research collaborations that will receive more than $900,000 from the 2010-2011 MISTI Global Seed Funds competition. Now in its third year, this growing initiative received 112 proposals, up from the 104 received for the inaugural 2008-2009 grant round. All awardees include undergraduate, graduate or postdoctoral student participation. 

Puerto Rico Economy Project (PREP)

Responding to a generous gift from MIT alumnus Jon Borschow, senior faculty and researchers from CIS and DUSP's CoLab are building an initiative to promote sustainable economic development of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Basin. To get the project underway, CIS hosted a conference February 3-4, 2011, hosting several Puerto Rican scholars and business leaders as well as an array of MIT talent. Working in cooperation with the Center for a New Economy in San Juan, several faculty and graduate students are lined up to work on the project, which should generate actionable ideas for the island within two years. Gustavo Setrini, a PhD candidate in political science, will serve as the project's research associate starting fall 2011. 

Brazil-MIT Forum

The Brazil-MIT Forum/Conferência Brasil-MIT brings together leaders from Brazil and MIT to seek solutions to common challenges. Sponsored by Santander Universities and hosted by the MIT-Brazil Program (MISTI), the inaugural meeting was held at MIT on April 14 and 15, 2011. 

Migration Seminar Series

The Myron Weiner Seminar Series on International Migration hosted two talks: "Creative State: Forty Years of Migration and Development Policy in Morocco and Mexico" with Natasha Iskander, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, New York University; and "Mobilizing for Refugee Protection: To Mark the 60th Anniversary of UNHCR and the 1951 Refugee Convention" with Luise Druke, co-chair of UN Studies, Suffolk University/Leibniz University of Hannover. 

Starr Forums

The Center hosted multiple Starr Forums in an effort to address today's global challenges, including: "Egypt's Revolution: A Conversation with the Founders of the April 6 Youth Movement"; "Afghanistan: Mending It Not Just Ending It" with David Miliband; a book talk with Abbas Milani and Ali Banuazizi on Milani's book The Shah; and "Japan's Nuclear Crisis" featuring Richard Samuels and Kenneth Oye of CIS. For a full list of spring Starr Forum's and videos, click here.