Ramesh Raskar Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences NEC Career Development Professor MIT Media Lab Jeffrey Delmore, JD VP, Corporate Risk Manager, FM Global
Newsha Ghaeli President & Cofounder, Biobot
Rony Kubat Cofounder & CTO, Tulip Interfaces
Ellen Nussbaum CEO, Humanyze
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Immune homeostasis requires constant collaboration between a diverse and dynamic set of cell types. Within our immune tissues, distinct cellular subsets must work together to defend against pathogenic threats, maintain tolerance, and establish memory. While surveying multiple healthy individuals enables exploration of potential ensemble immune solutions, contrasts against outliers of health and disease can reveal deviations that underscore diagnostic, therapeutic, and prophylactic features of enhanced function or dysfunction. Here, I will discuss how we can leverage single-cell genomic approaches – and, in particular, single-cell RNA-Seq – to explore the extensive functional diversity among immune cells within and across individuals, and uncover, from the bottom-up, distinct cell types and states associated with improved immunity. Moreover, I will discuss emerging experimental and computational strategies for altering ensemble cellular responses through targeted intra- or extracellular induction of these preferred types and states.
Want some good news about the environment? In America, we have finally learned to grow our economy while taking less from the Earth year after year: less water, timber, and metal; fewer minerals and resources; even less energy. This talk is a show and tell about this profound change. Andy McAfee will show the evidence that we've started getting more from less and tell how it happened. The unlikely heroes of the tale are the cost pressures that come from intense competition and powerful digital tools that reduce the need for resources. In short, prices and processors are now letting us tread more lightly on the Earth. The story is full of surprises and also insights. In particular, it gives us a playbook for dealing with the major challenges still ahead of us: global warming, pollution, and species loss.
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Risk, Innovation and the New Manufacturing Pioneers
Ben Armstrong Executive Director, MIT Industrial Performance Center