Upcoming Events

Special Events

What is Participatory Budgeting? Panel + Dinner

Location: Room 2-105

Date & Time: April 23rd, 6-7pm

RSVP here so we know how much food to get!

Each year, local cities facilitate a process called participatory budgeting, which allows community members to decide exactly how to spend a part of the city budget. Through this participatory budgeting, individuals wield the power to address pressing issues within their localities, fostering a sense of agency and communal responsibility. The three cities surrounding MIT: Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston, have all adopted participatory budgeting and are in different stages of their respective programs. Come hear from the leaders of these initiatives to hear about how we can inspire more participatory democracy.

Panelists:

  • Megan Huckenpahler, City of Somerville

  • Jackson Price, City of Cambridge

  • Daniel Bryan, City of Boston Youth Lead the Change Project

Career Panels

The MIT Science Policy Initiative is hosting two career panelson April 14th and April 26th! These panels are informative gatherings designed to bridge the gap between past and present MIT students. Our panel will feature alumni from various sectors, such as astrophysics, climate science, and healthcare. They will share their science policy journeys, and attendees will have the opportunity to engage with the panelists during the Q&A session. Both panels will be held on Zoom. No RSVP is required.

Panel 1: April 15th at 4 pm
Zoom link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/96809492562
Panelists:

  • Anjali Tripathi, astrophysicist and Science Ambassador for NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program

  • Martin Wolf, climate scientist and AAAS Congressional Science Policy Fellow in the office of Senator Ed Markey

  • Megan Brewster, materials scientist, Vice President of Advanced Technology at Impinj, and former Senior Policy Advisor for Advanced Manufacturing at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Panel 2: April 26th at 4 pm
Zoom link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/92956022363
Panelists:

  • Tess Carter, climate scientist and Senior Policy Analyst for the Congressional Joint Economic Committee

  • Sarah Rovito, systems engineer and Senior Program Officer at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

  • Willie Boag, computer scientist and Senior Healthcare Data Lead at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services

  • Scott Oleson, data scientist, epidemiologist, and team lead at the CDC Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics

Past events

Journal Clubs

SPI collaborated with the MIT Science Policy Review (SPR) for our first joint journal club event in October 2023. The topic of this discussion was access to technology, and we discussed two articles:

  • Riccio-Ackerman, F., Chicos, L., & Herrera-Arcos, G. (2023). Repairing the prosthetic science-policy rift: Challenges to improved access and translation of prosthetic technologies. MIT Science Policy Review. Click here for a link to the paper.

Book Clubs

Once per semester, we choose a book to read and discuss. SPI purchases a copy for everyone who participates through Brookline Booksmith, a local bookstore in the Boston area. Here are some books we’ve read and links to discussion slides if you’d like to host your own discussions:

Special Events

SPI hosts a variety of one-off “special” events throughout the year! For example, we partner with other student organizations and events on campus to learn about shared interests. See below for a list of past events and linked educational information.

For more info about these and other events, contact us at spi-exec@mit.edu !

Get in touch: