Dear Octet,

Greetings from Cambridge where winter weather is in full swing. The trees are bare and the sun sets a little after 4 pm. During this darkest time of the year, we observe Advent in preparation for the coming celebration of Christ Jesus’ birth. Advent services, festivals of carols and lessons, gift buying, and meal preparations fill our days. But, as we gear up for this annual celebration, let us prepare with equal expectation for Christ’s return. The weight and darkness of this needy world is an ever present reminder of our calling. May we be found expectant, alert, and ready long after the Christmas season passes.

With Yuletide blessings,

Mia Chung-Yee

Executive Director

• Advent resource: read an essay on Christmas by Danny Yamashiro.
• Registration for Octet's IAP courses is now open! Register for "Science, Technology & Ethics in Industry" and "Disagreeing Well" on Octet's website.
• Enjoy brief conversations featuring Glen Comiso and the third installment of a three-part conversation with Anne McCants.

Essay

Reflection: The Infinite Became an Infant Philippians 2:5-11

Danny Yamashiro, Cambridge Roundtable Faculty Chaplain at MIT

Recap of Diálogos

Les Misérables: Christian Reflections on Dobbs

The second intellectual hospitality event took place on Thursday evening with faculty, staff and alumni from a range of backgrounds. David Skeel, S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Pennsylvania, Carey Law School, discussed the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Save the Date for Diálogos: Sexuality, Gender & Technology with Andy Crouch

On February 23rd, the Octet Collaborative invites faculty, staff and alumni for the third Diálogos event with Andy Crouch, partner for theology and culture at Praxis, an organization that works as a creative engine for redemptive entrepreneurship.

Register for the Octet Collaborative's IAP Courses

In January 2023, the Octet Collaborative will offer two courses during IAP (Independent Activities Period).

Science, Technology & Ethics in Industry

In this mini-course, we will examine frameworks for thinking about what sorts of technologies we should be building, asking questions of meaning, purpose, and ultimate goals.

This course includes a remote option.

Disagreeing Well

In these polarized times, what does it mean to disagree well? This IAP, you are invited to participate in a workshop that will equip you with skills of empathic intelligence and enable you to pursue meaningful dialogue across difference, based on the work of the Ideos Institute.

Year End Giving Update

Because of your generosity, Octet has raised $13,000 toward the $75,000 goal! Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this noble effort. If you haven't made a gift yet, there's still time to do so! The year end campaign runs through January 31st.

Thank You for Your Partnership

On Thursday evening, December 15, the Octet Collaborative hosted its second Diálogos event with more than a dozen MIT faculty and staff members. Thank you for your steadfast support and partnership with Octet and for making this work possible!

Scholarly News

Rosalind Picard and the MIT Media Lab are noted as the premier innovators in the emotional artificial intelligence field in this Forbes article.

Danielle Wood and the MIT Media Lab are featured in this Bloomberg video about space technology and sustainability.

Read this story of a MIT senior involved in NEET (New Engineering Education Transformation). Linda Griffith is the founding faculty lead and associate director of NEET, a program through which students in a strong disciplinary degree program learn how to be part of interdisciplinary projects.

The Octet Collaborative is pleased to offer a warm welcome to Iwnetim (Tim) Iwnetu Abate, Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (beginning January 2023), and Loza Tadesse, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering (beginning July 2023), to the MIT community.

Meet a Board Member: Paul Burke

MIT alumnus Paul Burke talks about the loneliness of being a Christian in the sciences, and the vision of the Octet Collaborative to prepare MIT students to steward their intellectual gifts faithfully within their vocation.

• MIT's outgoing President, L. Rafael Reif, discusses what shaped his time as leader of the Institute in the MIT Technology Review.
• Dan Huttenlocher is the inaugural dean at the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, the Institute's sixth college.

Ministry News & Events

• The Baptist Student Fellowship and the Baptist Chaplain hosted its 21st International Thanksgiving banquet. Students helped pack and send over 100 shoeboxes around the world on behalf of MIT for Operation Christmas Child!

Advent Reflection