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December 27-31, 2021

Happy Holidays!!

Don't miss our Holiday Party this week! We're playing a game called "To Tell the Truth" thats modeled after an old TV game show. We played this game last year, and it was so fun! Best event we ever had at Ronin :)

We've also got a few of our regularly scheduled Ronin Institute events lined up this week, including #watercooler and CAMP IG+ meetings. You are also welcome to join us at Ronin Orientation and Office Hours with Jon.

I've included a list of all of our current Interest Groups, which are hosted on our Slack workspace. If anyone would like to take an Interest Group to another activity level (meeting regularly, and being listed on the Ronin Institute calendar and website), please let me know. I can help you get your Interest Group Plus off the ground!

ALSO: Stay tuned for announcements about a Ronin Holiday Party 🎄that Keith Tse is organizing.

Best wishes to all of us at the Ronin Institute. May we all be merry and safe as we transition to the new year. See you all on the other side!

~ Arika

All events are on our Ronin calendar (add the Google Calendar). If you want to add something to this Weekly Update that you think Ronin Scholars would be interested in, please reach out via weekly.update@ronininstitute.org.

Ronin Institute Holiday Party

Date: Dec 28
Time: 12:00 US ET / 16:00 UTC (calendar event)
Location: https://www.kumospace.com/ronin_institute

Let's end the year on a good note by getting together, celebrating the good things, and having some fun. Plan to wear your ugliest/funniest holiday-themed attire!

Julie Mark Cohen is hosting a game called "To tell the Truth”. "To Tell the Truth" à la Ronin is a game during which the audience tries to learn which of three contestants has an unusual hobby. The host calls upon audience members to ask questions and vote for the person who is most likely telling the truth. The game concludes when the truth-telling contestant reveals their identity. For this game, contestants, including imposters, are selected in advance.

If you'd like to be a contestant, please contact Julie at jmcohen@ronininstitute.org ASAP.

Ronin Orientation

For new, old, and maybe Scholars

Are you new to the Ronin Institute, and need a little help finding your way around?

Maybe you've been a Ronin Research Scholar for a while now and just need help with some of our tech.

This orientation is for you!

Date: Dec 28, 2021
Time: 1:00-2:00 PM US ET / 18:00-19:00 UTC (local time) (add to your calendar)

Meeting link: www.kumospace.com/ronin_institute

Summary: Prospective, new, and seasoned scholars are welcome to attend to get in intro into how the Ronin Institute works, and how they can get involved. All new scholars are highly encouraged to attend.

Feel free to pass on this announcement to those interested in joining Ronin.

These orientations occur once every two months; each orientation is on a different day of the week and at a different time of day to try to accommodate people's varying schedules. Please direct any questions to John Paulas or #wg-membership on Slack. [Illustration by Yuko Kondo]

Community meetings this week

These meetings are open and welcome for any Research Scholar to attend. Working Groups (WGs) focus on key elements of the Ronin Institute. Interest Groups (IGs) are self-organized groups of Scholars that focus on topics of interest; their goal is to stimulate discussion and enhance collaboration.

TUESDAY
#watercooler chat
Scope: Catch up with your colleagues in an informal Slack chat by the "watercooler".
Date/Time: Every Tuesday at 12:00-1:00 PM US ET / 17:00-18:00 UTC (local time)
Location: #watercooler slack channel. If you can't make the specified time, you can always contribute to the chat conversation at anytime in the Slack channel.

Center for Advancing Mathematics and Physics (CAMP) IG+
Scope: Come join the conversation about Math and Physics, where the group shares information about research, educates each other, and provides advice.
Date/Time: Every Tuesday at 12:30-1:30 PM US ET / 17:30-18:30 UTC (local time) Add to your calendar
Location: www.kumospace.com/ronin_institute (co-located with Coffee Chat, so feel free to explore other rooms afterwards!)

THURSDAY
Office hours with Jon
Scope: Answer any questions you have related to the Ronin Institute.
Date/Time: Every Thursday at 10:30 AM -11:30 AM US ET / 15:30-16:30 UTC (local time) Add to your calendar
Location: https://www.kumospace.com/ronin_institute

If you want to know more about Ronin WGs, email or join us at "Office hours with Jon & Arika"

Interest Groups

IGs are self-organized groups of Scholars around a specific topic. IGs are currently organized on Slack channels (hence, the convention that is used to list them below). IG+ refers to an Interest Group Plus, which is an IG that meets on a recurring basis and has a profile on our website. Here is more info about the full IG lifecycle, and how to start an IG or IG+.

*Notes the most recent IG's, and a description of their topic.

Our Interest Groups:

#ig-artificialintelligence
*#ig-asia
#ig-basic-income
#ig-big-brain
#biological-intelligent-systems
#ig-bookadmirers
#ig-careers
#ig-complexsystems
#ig-consulting-business
#ig-covid19-biology
#ig-covid19-social
#ig-disasters
#ig-ecology-and-environment
#ig-education
#ig-engineering-and-engineering-science
*#ig-english-as-a-second-language
#ig-evolution
#ig-funding-strategy-group
#ig-health
#ig-makerspace
#ig-math-physics: hosts the Center for Advancing Mathematic & Physics CAMP IG+
*#ig-music
#ig-open-science
#ig-quantum_computing
#ig-revolutionary-knowledge-production
*#ig-ronin-college
#ig-ronin-of-color
#ig-ronin-women
#ig-social-ecological-systems
#ig-socialscience

To join an IG, simply click on the channel and select "join". If you want to start an IG, just create a new channel in Slack with the prefix "IG-" in the channel name. Then announce it on #general, so we all know it's there. Haven't joined Slack yet? Follow these instructions to join.