Archive for January, 2009
Posted January 8th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
While you won’t come out of this session qualified to be a patent attorney, you will be able to successfully find patent references from all over the world and know how to obtain patent text and diagrams. The session will be a hands-on practicum that will help de-mystify the patent literature and expose attendees to key resources for finding patents through free resources available on the web.
WHEN:
Tuesday, January 20, 12 – 1:30pm
Thursday, January 22, 3 – 4:30pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 25 participants.
Contact Darcy Duke with any questions.
Posted in All news, Classes, Engineering, Events
Posted January 7th, 2009 by mit-admin
Rotch Library IAP Film Series:
When: 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM, Thursday, January 8, 2009
Where: Rotch Library Conference Room, 7-238
Click the image above to view a trailer for the film.
King Corn: a film (2006)
Two college graduates plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most productive, most subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil, with the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, nitrogen fertilizers, and powerful herbicides. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat– and how we farm. (92 minutes)
This film is a part of the Rotch Library DVD collection.
Contact: Heather McCann, 7-238, x3-7098, <hmccann_at_mit.edu>
Sponsor: MIT Libraries hosted by Heather McCann, Allison Benedetti, Omar Khalidi, Jonah Jenkins
Enrollment: Seating is limited; first come, first served, limited to 20 participants.
Posted in All news, Art + Architecture + Planning, Business + Management, Events, Exhibits, Humanities, Science, Subject/Topic areas
Posted January 7th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
Researchers and students at MIT enjoy access to vast amounts of information from a variety of sources and in a variety of formats. Finding, manipulating, organizing and managing the fire-hose quantity of content that comes across your desktop can be a challenge. While we can’t offer you a ‘magic bullet’ solution for this challenge, the MIT Libraries are sponsoring a series of IAP sessions that showcase tools, training and techniques that can help you both find sources for data and to become better custodians of your own content. These sessions are organized into sub-thematic groups and are offered throughout the month. Contact the individual session sponsors if you have any questions.
CITATION MANAGEMENT
DATA, DOCUMENT AND IMAGE MANAGEMENT
BIOINFORMATICS
GIS
Please note that some sessions have limited availability or may require advance sign-up requirements. If you have further questions, please see individual listings for appropriate contact information.
Also browse the entire gamut of offerings by the MIT Libraries.
Posted in All news, Bioinformatics, Classes, Engineering, Events, GIS, Science, Social Sciences
Posted January 7th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
For researchers struggling to manage their data, basic strategies will be provided for
- best practices for retention and archiving
- effective directory structures and naming conventions
- good file formats for long-term access
- data security and backup options
- metadata, tagging, and citation
- other relevant issues
WHEN:
Thursday, January 15, 11am – 12pm
OR
Wednesday, January 28, 4 – 5pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 20 participants, no pre-registration required.
Contact MacKenzie Smith with any questions.
Posted in All news
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
Confused by the terms “organic,” “grass-fed,” “all-natural”??
If so, get some clarification with farmers Kim Denney (Chestnut Farms, Hardwick, MA) and Kate Stillman (Stillman Farms, New Braintree, MA).
Their hands-on expertise and witty story-telling will clarify any confusion you may have about economically and environmentally sustainable livestock and vegetable farming.
WHEN: Wednesday, January 21, 1 – 3pm
WHERE: 32-123
Co-sponsored by the Working Group Recycling Committee and the MIT Food Initiative.
Contact Ryan Gray with any questions.
Posted in All news, Classes, Events
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
Are you an apartment-dweller wishing for some backyard space to compost?
Don’t worry, you can compost indoors and start any time of the year!
In this 2-hour workshop, you will learn how to use worms to turn your garbage into “black gold” from the City of Cambridge’s Recycling Director, Randi Mail. Randi will be joined by Ryan Gray, who with Randi’s expertise, learned to compost at home AND at work.
WHEN: Wednesday, January 28, 1 – 3pm
WHERE: 32-144
Please sign up by contacting Ryan Gray.
Co-sponsored by the Working Group Recycling Committee and the MIT Food Initiative.
Posted in All news, Classes, Events
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
Looking for prospective employers?
Preparing for a job interview?
MIT Libraries can help!
First, we’ll learn how to target potential employers– established companies, start-up firms — by field of interest and by location. Then, we’ll use MIT Libraries’ resources to research potential employers and uncover information that can aid our career decisions and our interview preparations. This will be a hands-on workshop. Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop if possible, as seating space exceeds the number of available PCs.
WHEN: Friday, January 23, 12:30 – 1:30pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 30 participants.
Contact Alex Caracuzzo with any questions.
Posted in All news, Business + Management, Classes, Engineering, Events, Science
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
Come and hear attorney Sonia Guterman of Lawson & Weitzen discuss the distinctive aspects of patents that make them valuable, the role of patents in capital development, along with issues surrounding filing biotech patents. She will be assisted by Drew Lowery, who received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from MIT and is a member of Global Prior Art‘s Life Science Team. Drew will discuss and demonstrate alternative ways to search biotech patent art and their suitability. At the end of the talk attendees will have the opportunity to do hands on searching.
WHEN:
Thursday, January 29, 3 – 4:30pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 25 participants.
Contact Darcy Duke with any questions.
Posted in All news, Classes, Engineering, Events
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
Come and hear patent attorney Sam Pasternak of Choate, Hall and Stewart, and Jack Turner from the MIT Technology Licensing Office discuss the ins and outs of obtaining patents by members of the MIT community. This popular session covers a bit of patent history and a lot about current practices, processes, and issues surrounding obtaining a patent; the focus is on the process used at MIT. A portion of the session is devoted to questions and answers.
If you think you will ever invent something, you need to be here!!
WHEN: Thursday, January 15, 3 – 4:30
WHERE: 1-190
Contact Carol Robinson with questions.
Posted in All news, Classes, Events
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
Are you a Mechanical Engineering grad student getting started on your research? An undergrad doing a UROP in Course 2, or majoring in Course 2? Then this session is for you! Learn about finding, organizing, and keeping up with the literature in mechanical engineering and related fields. This is a hands-on session in a computer classroom, but feel free to bring your own laptop.
WHEN: Wednesday, January 21, 2 – 3pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 30 participants.
Contact Angie Locknar with any questions.
Posted in All news, Classes, Engineering, Events
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
Are you a Materials Science and Engineering grad student getting started on your research? An undergrad doing a UROP in Course 3, or majoring in Course 3? Then this session is for you! Learn about finding, organizing, and keeping up with the literature in materials science and related fields. This is a hands-on session in a computer classroom, but feel free to bring your own laptop.
WHEN: Tuesday, January 13, 2 – 3pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 35 participants.
Contact Angie Locknar with any questions.
Posted in All news, Classes, Engineering, Events, Science
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
What’s an RSS feed? How can I use it to keep up with new information in my field? We’ll show you how RSS and other current awareness tools can help you stay up to date!
This will be a hands-on session on Windows PCs. You are also welcome to bring your own laptop.
WHEN: Friday, January 16, 4 – 5pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 25 participants.
Contact Darcy Duke with any questions.
Posted in All news, Classes, Engineering, Events
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
If you are a researcher in chemistry, or chemistry related subjects like chemical engineering, materials science, environmental science, biological sciences, etc., then you should know about SciFinder, the most comprehensive chemical information database.
This hands-on workshop will teach you the basics of SciFinder on the web!
WHEN: Friday, January 16, 11 – 12pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 20 participants.
Contact Erja Kajosalo with any questions.
Posted in All news, Classes, Engineering, Events, Science
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
You may be a skilled investigator on the topic of science or engineering, but what do you know about business research? This session will introduce you to library-supported databases that cover company and industry information. We will use hands-on exercises to demonstrate strategies for researching two key components of a business plan: competitors and industry trends.
WHEN: Thursday, January 15, 1 – 2pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 25 participants.
Contact Stephanie Hartman with any questions.
Posted in All news, Classes, Engineering, Events, Science
Posted January 6th, 2009 by mit-admin
Rotch Library IAP Film Series:
When: Thursday and Fridays during IAP; Thursday, January 8, 2009 – Friday, January 30, 2009
Where: Rotch Library Conference Room, 7-238
Did you know that the Rotch Library of Architecture and Planning maintains an impressive DVD collection, with new titles added regularly?
Join us as we explore the scope of the collection, from from how we eat and farm (King Corn) to African mud architecture (Future of Mud) to the way type affects our lives (Helvetica). We’ll be showing a different film or two each day. Bring your lunch, we’ll provide the entertainment!
More information about each showing will be posted on this blog, and on the Rotch Library website.
Contact: Heather McCann, 7-238, x3-7098, <hmccann_at_mit.edu>
Sponsor: MIT Libraries hosted by Heather McCann, Allison Benedetti, Omar Khalidi, Jonah Jenkins
Enrollment: Seating is limited; first come, first served, limited to 20 participants.
Posted in All news, Art + Architecture + Planning, Business + Management, Engineering, Events, Exhibits, Humanities, Science, Social Sciences, Subject/Topic areas
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
The Web of Science has changed its search interface substantially in 2008. Learn about the new citation analysis and report features which enable you to quickly find relevant articles. Also learn about other Web sites that provide citation searching, a powerful tool in finding information for research.
WHEN:
Thursday, January 22, 5 – 6pm
Tuesday, January 27, 5 – 6pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
There is no advanced sign-up or limit to this session.
Contact Michael Noga with any questions.
Posted in All news, Classes, Events, Science
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
Need data to answer a research question? Interested in analyzing raw datasets with micro-level records about individual respondents?
This hands-on workshop will familiarize you with the resources of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) and the Harvard-MIT Data Center, which provide access to datasets in the social sciences and related fields. Topics will include the structure of data files, finding and downloading datasets, and understanding data documentation.
NOTE: Advance sign-up is required. Registration due by January 13. This session is limited to 20 participants.
WHEN: Wednesday, January 14, 2 – 3:30pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
Contact Kate McNeill with any questions and/or to register.
Posted in All news, Classes, Events, Social Sciences
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
RefWorks is a web-based resource designed to help you organize references and create a bibliography. RefWorks allows you to search, retrieve relevant citations, easily cite references as you write your paper, and build your bibliography. It allows users to create individual or group accounts.
WHEN:
Thursday, January 15, 5 – 6pm
Thursday, January 22, 1 – 2pm
Friday, January 30, 2 – 3pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 20 participants.
Contact Anita Perkins with any questions.
Posted in All news, Classes, Events
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
With personal computers and scanners, paper documents can be easily digitized, efficiently managed, and integrated with electronic documents. Many drawers of documents can be stored in a laptop computer or a passport-sized pocket hard drive, together with electronic documents retrieved from online resources. Paper documents can be converted into PDF files and made searchable through character recognition software. Documents may then be found through a keyword search, and the original scanned images can be viewed and printed as needed.
We will discuss the digitization of paper documents, search technologies, and document management, as well as how to combine the best properties of paper and digital media.
WHEN: Thursday, January 29, 5 – 6pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 25 participants.
Contact Ryuji Suzuki or Remlee Green with any questions.
Posted in All news, Classes, Events
Posted January 6th, 2009 by Ryan Gray
Learn how the QUOSA Information Manager can help streamline your literature management. Search for articles and retrieve the PDFs in a single step from PubMed and other databases. Organize and manage your existing article PDF collections to stay on top of your research. QUOSA works seamlessly with your EndNote or RefWorks collections. The developers of the QUOSA Information Manager will provide a demonstration and answer your questions.
WHEN: Tuesday, January 27, 4 – 5pm
WHERE: DIRC, 14N-132
Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 25 participants.
Contact Howard Silver or Remlee Green with any questions.
Posted in All news, Classes, Events
