Lectures + Seminars
Each year, EAPS offers a robust schedule of weekly seminars and headline lectures on current research, featuring speakers from MIT, other universities, industry, and government. Most talks are free and open to the public.
Weekly Research Lecture Series
Offered during the Fall and Spring terms, each lecture series is organized largely by EAPS research concentration areas.
[ESS] Earth Science Seminar
Lecture portion of the EAPS graduate-level class 12.571, covering current research in geophysics, geology, geochemistry, and geobiology. All members of the MIT community are welcome to join for presentations by guest speakers, held approximately every two weeks during the term.
Meeting time varies by term. See events calendar for current listings.
Contact: earth-science-seminar-info@mit.edu
[DLS] EAPS Department Lecture Series
Weekly talks aimed to bring together the entire EAPS community, given by leading thinkers in the areas of geology, geophysics, geobiology, geochemistry, atmospheric science, oceanography, climatology, and planetary science. Runs concurrently with class 12.S501.
Tuesdays from 12pm-1:30pm, unless otherwise noted.
Contact: eapsinfo@mit.edu
[ESAC] Student Seminar Series
A forum for students and postdocs to share recent research, hone presentation skills, and build community among peers, sponsored by the EAPS Student Advisory Committee. Open to current EAPS graduate and undergraduate students and postdocs. Typically hosted on Thursdays during the semester, including pizza lunch.
Thursdays from 12pm-1:30pm, unless otherwise noted.
Contact: esac.officers@gmail.com
[FISH] Friday Informal Seminar Hour – Earth Resources Laboratory
Postdoc-run seminar series within the Earth Resources Laboratory (ERL). Features talks by ERL members as well as special guests from academia and the energy industry on topics including geothermal energy, carbon sequestration, machine learning for geophysics, multiphase flow, subsurface imaging, and uncertainty quantification.
Fridays from 12-1pm, unless otherwise noted
Contact: fish_seminar_organizers@mit.edu
[PAOCQ] PAOC Colloquium
Interdisciplinary seminar series that brings together the whole PAOC (Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate) community. Seminar topics include all research concerning the physics, chemistry, and biology of the atmospheres, oceans and climate, as well as talks about societal impacts of climatic processes.
Mondays from 12-1pm.
Contact: paoc-colloquium-comm@mit.edu.
[PLS] Planetary Lunch Seminar
Colloquia topics span the range of research interests of the department’s planetary sciences research program, and the talks are intended to appeal to any graduate students, postdocs, research scientists, and faculty with a background in planetary science. Speakers include members of the MIT community and visitors.
Tuesdays from 12-1:30 pm, unless otherwise noted
Contact: planetary-org@mit.edu.
[SLS] Sack Lunch Seminar Series — Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate
Informal seminar series within PAOC (Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate) that focuses on more specialized topics than the PAOC Colloquium. The presentations are either given by an invited speaker or by a member of PAOC and can focus on new research or discussion of a paper of particular interest.
Wednesdays from 12-1pm, unless otherwise noted
Contact: sacklunch-committee@mit.edu
Headline Lectures + Outreach Events
Each year, EAPS welcomes the public to join us for headline lectures on exciting current research, featuring distinguished speakers from MIT and institutions around the world.
We also participate in the Cambridge Science Festival and partner with the MIT Museum to host interactive exhibits presented by our students and researchers, where curious guests can ask questions and experience our science up-close.
John H. Carlson Lecture
An annual outreach event to communicate exciting new results in climate science to the public and to engage with area high school students, with the aim to inspire young people to consider careers in the geosciences, and in STEM in general. Free of charge and open to the general public, the lecture is made possible by a generous gift from MIT alumnus John H. Carlson to the Lorenz Center in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT.
Henry W. Kendall Memorial Lecture
Honors the memory of Professor Henry W. Kendall (1926-1999) who was the J.A. Stratton Professor of Physics at MIT. Professor Kendall received the Nobel Prize in 1990 for research that provided the first experimental evidence for quarks. He had a deep commitment to understanding and finding solutions to the multiple environmental problems facing the world today and in the future. Co-sponsored by the MIT Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy (CS3), the permanently endowed Kendall Lecture features leading researchers in environmental and climate science.
Houghton Lecture Series
Supported through the Houghton Fund in the EAPS Program in Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate (PAOC), Houghton Lecturers are distinguished visitors from outside MIT who are invited to spend a period of time—ranging from a week to several months—as scientists-in-residence, lecturing in ocean, atmospheric, or climate science. During their stay it is customary for each lecturer to offer a short-course in a topic of wide interest to the department.
William F. Brace Lecture
Honors the legacy of former EAPS Department Head and “legend in rock physics” Bill Brace who passed away in 2012. Envisioned as an all-department, public outreach event, EAPS faculty or distinguished visitors from outside MIT are invited to speak on a subject of contemporary interest in Earth, atmospheric, or planetary science.
