March 25, 2021 Don Sadoway -- Electrochemical Pathways Towards Sustainable Energy

Don Sadoway, John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry at MIT, on Electrochemical Pathways Towards Sustainable Energy. A sustainable energy future is axiomatically an electric future whose realization depends in large measure upon electrochemical innovations. Two examples: stationary energy storage and carbon-free steelmaking. Grid-scale electricity storage not only treats the intermittency of renewable electric power generation (wind and solar) but also confers resilience on today’s grid. For example, the liquid metal battery provides colossal power capability on demand and long service lifetime at requisite low cost. In 2019, worldwide steel production, 1.869 billion tons, generated 9% of total anthropogenic CO2 emissions. As an example of novel approaches in this sector, molten oxide electrolysis represents an environmentally sound alternative to today’s carbon-intensive thermochemical process which produces an average 1.83 tons CO2 per ton of steel. In the narratives of both of these emerging technologies, there are lessons more broadly applicable to innovation: pose the right question, engage young minds (not experts), establish a creative culture, and invent inventors.

Donald R. Sadoway is the John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science and Ph.D. in Chemical Metallurgy are from the University of Toronto. He joined the MIT faculty in 1978. The author of over 180 scientific papers and inventor on 35 U.S. patents, his research is directed towards batteries for grid-scale storage and for electric vehicles and towards environmentally sound metals extraction technologies. His accomplishments include the invention of the liquid metal battery for large-scale stationary storage and the invention of molten oxide electrolysis for carbon-free metals production. He is the founder of six companies, Ambri, Boston Metal, Avanti Battery, Pure Lithium, Lunar Resources, and Sadoway Labs. Online videos of his chemistry lectures hosted by MIT OpenCourseWare extend his impact on engineering education far beyond the lecture hall. Viewed more than 2,400,000 times, his TED talk is as much about inventing inventors as it is about inventing technology. In 2012 he was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

October 1, 2015 Ron Latanision -- Unintended Consequences of Science and Technology

In the Fall of 2015, Judy Katz of the Jenks Center asked David Wilson to lead a discussion group on science and technology. The hope was that it might engage members of our community who have interest in things technological. David and I were faculty colleagues at MIT for many years. He asked me to give the inaugural talk. In our conversations about a topic, David pointed out that ”… I've been hearing discussions on concern that S&T is getting out of control. I wonder if something along the lines of ‘Are science and technology going too fast? Would you like to have a home robot that is smarter than you?’" On that basis we settled on Unintended Consequences of Science and Technology for my presentation on October 1, 2015. Dave served as moderator for the S&T group thereafter. Typical of the Wilson humor, David noted in an early meeting announcement that “…non-MIT people will be enthusiastically welcomed." Dave Wilson was a classic. It is fitting that the Forum that grew from the discussion group bears his name.

---Ron Latanision, 26 March 2022

Friday March 11th, 2022 - Ik-Kyung Jang - Optical Coherence Tomography,

Ik-Kyung Jang, MD, PhD, the Allan and Gill Gray Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) will speak about Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and Plaque Erosion. Coronary OCT is an intravascular imaging modality that can be performed during cardiac catheterization. Its higher resolution has allowed visualization of detailed coronary plaque structure.

The talk will offer an overview of:

• History of OCT application in Cardiology
• A new in vivo diagnosis of plaque erosion in patients with acute heart attack
• A potential major shift in the management of patients with heart attack in the future

Ik-Kyung Jang, MD, PhD is a full Professor of Medicine at HMS and holds the Harvard Chair “Allan and Gill Gray Professor of Medicine”. He is the director of the Cardiac OCT Research Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and was the first incumbent of the “Michael and Kathryn Park Endowed Chair in Cardiology” at MGH, which he held from 2016-2021. Dr. Jang was named an “Eminent Scholar” at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea, and has been a member of the nomination committee for the “Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine” for four times including the recent three consecutive years.

Dr. Jang arrived at MGH in 1987 after finishing his clinical training in medicine and cardiology, and receiving PhD at Leuven University in Belgium. Initially, his research focused on the pharmacology and physiology of thrombosis and thrombolysis. Over the years he served as the principal investigator of more than 30 clinical trials including multiple investigator-initiated studies. He pioneered in vivo vascular biology research using OCT in patients with coronary artery disease which began by performing the First-in-human coronary OCT procedure in 1998. In 2010 he established an international OCT Registry, collaborating with more than 25 sites in 9 countries. More than 35 fellows from 10 different countries have trained in Dr. Jang’s laboratory. He has more than 350 publications and has edited three textbooks. In April Dr. Jang will be awarded the “2022 Distinguished Scientist Award” by the American College of Cardiology in recognition of his major scientific contributions to the advancement of scientific knowledge in the field of cardiovascular disease.