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Committee Responsibilities

Note: Whenever the host is not on the seminar committee, it is the co-host's duty to speak directly to the host to a) get clear confirmation from him/her that he/she is hosting and b) inform him/her of the duties of a host.

Identify and Invite Speakers (prior semester, mid-semester)

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• Request from administrative organizer a list of available dates for the coming semester

• Collect input from faculty colleagues and GMC.

Select a balance of disciplines. Consider representing MRSECs and DMSE alums in schedule. Try to balance potential travel costs by inviting local speakers (Harvard, BU, Northeastern). Check MIT, DMSE, and local calendars before offering dates.

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• The committee together identifies a list of suggested speakers (with alternates), to be approved by the heads of DMSE and MRL. Ultimately, the series should balance research areas, but also reflect a variety of ages, stages in career, geographic representation, etc.

• Select a group of speakers with a balance of research disciplines, gender, ethnicity, background, and other factors. Consider representing MRSECs and DMSE alums in schedule. Try to balance potential travel costs and weather issues by inviting local speakers (Harvard, BU, Northeastern). Check MIT, DMSE, and local calendars before offering dates.

Invitation letter

• Once speaker has accepted invitation with a set date, be sure to CC administrative organizer with confirmation response to speaker 
  

Host and Co-Host Responsibilities 

Each seminar has two faculty hosts: a member of the seminar committee (co-host) as well as the person who originally proposed that the speaker be invited (host). If the host is not on the seminar committee, a faculty committee member must coordinate the host/co-host duties. 

Provide for

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staff working on the seminar (Host and co-host):

• A list of departments and research centers to receive seminar poster/mailings, if outside usual promotional listDepartments that would be relevant to speaker

• A short list of faculty whom you feel might be interested in meeting with speakerName(s) of grad student(s) who will be willing to meet faculty in the lobby of the hotel to escort speaker from hotel to his/her first meeting

Assist admin to recruit faculty and to fill schedule as needed 

If speaker's schedule is not filled close to the time of the talk, it becomes the faculty host's responsibility to help to fill the remaining availability by:

• Encouraging relevant faculty to meet with speaker

• Meeting with speaker during one of the unfilled time slots

• Recommending postdocs/grad students so that admin may arrange a student groups group to meet with the speaker. Such groups may just be are usually students of a particular facultythe host or a PI..

Introduce speaker prior to talk  

The speaker’s bio will be sent to you the morning of the talk. You can also find a copy of the bio in the speaker’s folder in this GoogleDocs folder in the folder “Current Speakers”

Host faculty dinner (for on-campus visits only)

• Please assume that this will be scheduled for 6 PM after the talk. 
  Sometimes it will be scheduled the evening before if the speaker plans to depart after the talk. Refer to the administrative organizer who will inform you if the speaker needs to make alternative decisions.

• Share with admin your restaurant preferences. Catalyst is a default for most guests. Evoo is the default restaurant for vegetarian guests. Ideally choose a location close to campus.

• Specify the number of people in your dinner party. By default, reservations will be made for four. Inform admin if you plan to have a dinner party of a different number of attendees.

Identify and Invite Speakers

Collect input from faculty colleagues and GMC. Select a balance of disciplines. Consider representing MRSECs and DMSE alums in schedule. Try to balance potential travel costs by inviting local speakers (Harvard, BU, Northeastern). Check MIT, DMSE, MRL, and local calendars before offering dates.

Avoid MRS (week after Thanksgiving), Head of the Charles (October), Hosting (end of February or beginning of March), and Spring Break (March).

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Host dinner and lunch groups 

• Dinners are generally a faculty group, held near campus, in the evening following the seminar (though some speakers may choose to arrive earlier, and dinner would be the previous evening)
• Lunch is usually a group of 8-10 students and post-docs, who either apply or are nominated by their advisees. Lunch can be held at the Faculty Lunch Room or in a conference room, with delivered sandwiches.