Alumni event with Miaki Ishii

Hear from Professor Miaki Ishii PhD ’03 as she shares highlights from her first-year seminar, Earth Science Goes to the Movies: Math and Physics of Natural (?) Disasters.

Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, and volcanic eruptions can have devastating effects on society, but are often over-exaggerated for the silver screen. How can we tell what is believable and what is not? Students in this seminar watch one Earth-science related movie each week, learn background about the science behind the natural disasters portrayed on film, and apply math and physics concepts and equations to develop back-of-the-envelope calculations that assess realism. Students leave this class with the ability to point out flaws on-screen and the ability to explain natural phenomena in the world around them.

This program is open to all Harvard alumni.