Computation and the Transformation of Practically Everything traced the evolution of the information age and celebrated MIT's role in it. The event brought together early and recent pioneers from a variety of fields to review the role computation has played in the past and present and to explore frontiers that lie ahead.

February and March bring a series of forums to examine how the inherent and occasionally difficult diversity of humans shapes their lives, their creativity, and the political and social context of their existence. Titles include: The Fruits of Diversity, Diversity on the World Stage, Minorities in the United States, and Education in the United States.

This symposium engaged present students and postdocs, junior and senior faculty, alumni, and friends of MIT, and was woven around the landmark 1996 and 1999 reports of the Faculty Committees on Women in Science and their subsequent impact inside and beyond MIT.

Life sciences and engineering converge on cancer at MIT. As our faculty and students begin to chart the next course in cancer research, we celebrate the unique role they have played in its history and illustrate how and why MIT researchers are converging their disciplines to conquer cancer.

This symposium celebrated the role of MIT's faculty and students in advancing the fields of economics and finance, in putting the latest developments into practice, and in contributing to the design of public policy.

This symposium is inspired by the old dream of understanding the mind and the brain, which was at the core of several new fields created at MIT during the ‘50s and ‘60s. The same dream is now the main motivation for a new Intelligence Initiative (I2). Beyond being a great intellectual mission, this research will help develop an understanding of the origins of intelligence, build more intelligent artifacts and systems, and improve the mechanisms for collective decisions. These advances will be critical to the future prosperity, education, health, and security of our society.

The symposium on exploration discussed key questions for humans who embark on journeys of exploration where there is remarkable potential for discovery. When it comes to exploring earth, air, ocean and space, MIT’s contributions have shaped the 20th century. Great inventors and explorers such as MIT’s own Doolittle, Draper, and Edgerton contributed breakthrough technologies and instrumentation along with personal exploration and piloting feats. These inventors, engineers, scientists, and artists literally put us on the Moon and let us ‘see the unseen’.

The centerpiece of the MIT150 celebration is a formal academic event on April 10, 2011 to recall the 1949 Mid-Century Convocation and to celebrate the scholarly accomplishments of MIT faculty and students. The theme of the Next Century Convocation is the "habits of mind" fostered by MIT research and education: integrity, diligence, service, social responsibility, and creativity.

A panel discussion by MIT’s own historians about how the Institute has reflected and shaped the history of science and technology in America, from the antebellum period through the Cold War and into the 21st century. For more information about the conference and speakers, visit MIT's Moments of Decision: An Historical Retrospective.