Each January, MIT offers the community an opportunity to explore topics and activities that may not be available during the regular academic year.  The offical IAP website states, "For over four decades, IAP has provided members of the MIT community with a unique opportunity to organize, sponsor and participate in a wide variety of activities." It's a wonderful opportunity to learn more about a topic or issue when the pace on campus is slightly less hectic.

For us here at Radius, a number of programs stand out, beginning with CityDay, a series of one-day volunteer opportunites in the Boston/Cambridge area. This year, our partners will be the Greater Boston Food Bank, Community Servings, Science Club for Girls and the Community Art Center. You can sign up here. The Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center handles all the logistics, making it easy and fun to volunteer.

Waste Management 101: Where Does Our Trash Go? is another one of our picks. Most of us never give a thought to our trash or recyclying. This 3-day session will teach us all about the lifecycle of everything that goes into the bin: trash, recycling and compost.  According to the seminar's description, "By the end, you will walk away with a greater awareness and understanding of materials as they run through the disposal and recycling part of their lifecycle."  Field trips are planned. This seminar is being sponsored by the MIT Waste Alliance and the Graduate Student Council.

Next on our list is a seminar series on Water and Food Security Issues. This seminar will.."address a variety of global challenges around water and food security." As we watch the "water wars" in the western United States and witness California's four-year drought and the effect on agriculture, one can only imagine the challenges we will face on a global level. This seminar is being sponsored by the Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab.

Finally, MIT's Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) is hosting an all-day conference, MIT ON CLIMATE=SCIENCE+ACTION on Wednesday, January 27th. The conference will touch.." on everything from planetary climates through the complexities of Earth's climate system to the challenges of finding the will to act on our knowledge to address climate change...". 

Welcome to January 2016 and IAP. Let's go explore!