May 12
Coolidge Corner Theatre Brookline, MA
TicketsJeffrey Grossman
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT
2 or 3 Things I Know About Her— Coffee matters
Program Description
One of the defining works of the French New Wave, Jean-Luc Godard’s 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her contemplates consumerism, fashion, money, sex, urban life, and—in the course of once iconic scene—coffee. MIT Materials Science and Engineering Professor Jeffrey Grossman, who teaches a popular class entitled “Coffee Matters,” will delve into the science of the coffee, discussing the physics and chemistry hidden within each cup.
Film Synopsis
A day in the life of a Parisian housewife/prostitute, interspersed with musings on the Vietnam War and other contemporary issues.
In 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (2 ou 3 choses que je sais d’elle), Jean-Luc Godard beckons us ever closer, whispering in our ears as narrator. About what? Money, sex, fashion, the city, love, language, war: in a word, everything. Among the legendary French filmmaker’s finest achievements, the film takes as its ostensible subject the daily life of Juliette Janson (Marina Vlady), a housewife from the Paris suburbs who prostitutes herself for extra money. Yet this is only a template for Godard to spin off into provocative philosophical tangents and gorgeous images. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her is perhaps Godard’s most revelatory look at consumer culture, shot in ravishing widescreen color by Raoul Coutard.
Photo credit: Rialto Pictures
About the Speaker
Jeffrey C. Grossman is the Morton and Claire Goulder and Family Professor in Environmental Systems at MIT. He received his PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Illinois and performed postdoctoral work at the University of California at Berkeley. He was a Lawrence Fellow at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and returned to Berkeley as director of a Nanoscience Center and head of the Computational Nanoscience research group, with a focus on energy applications.
In fall 2009, he joined MIT, where he has developed a research program known for its contributions to energy conversion, energy storage, membranes, and clean-water technologies. In recognition of his contributions to engineering education, Grossman was named an MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellow and received the Bose Award for Excellence in Teaching, in addition to being named a fellow of the American Physical Society. He has published more than 200 scientific papers, holds 17 current or pending U.S. patents, and recently co-founded a company to commercialize graphene-oxide membranes.