Can I get involved in an MIT Physics community?

[Kevinkevinkevin]

I graduated from UMass Amherst with a computer engineering degree, and, like I say in my bio, I've always been passionate about physics and math, but especially theoretical physics. I live near Cambridge, which is why I'm looking into MIT. I browsed the school's website, and I found the "Center for Theoretical Physics" and many different types of seminars that they have. However, it seems like it's reserved for faculty and post-grads... Am I wrong? Does anyone here know more? Otherwise, are there any in-person professional physics communities I can join in eastern Massachusetts? Thank you.

 

[Astronuc]

I graduated from UMass Amherst with a computer engineering degree, and, like I say in my bio, I've always been passionate about physics and math, but especially theoretical physics. I live near Cambridge, which is why I'm looking into MIT. I browsed the school's website, and I found the "Center for Theoretical Physics" and many different types of seminars that they have. However, it seems like it's reserved for faculty and post-grads... Am I wrong? Does anyone here know more? Otherwise, are there any in-person professional physics communities I can join in eastern Massachusetts? Thank you.

One could contact the CTP and ask about public access.

http://ctpweb.lns.mit.edu/seminars.html (Note - Other Seminars at MIT and in the Boston area)
http://ctp.lns.mit.edu/contact.html - It would be appropriate to contact and ask the CTP if one is able to attend a lecture.

As for interacting with other physicists, there is APS and AIP.

 

[robphy]

It's good to ask...
but in my experience, wherever there is a physics seminar or colloquium that is announced, it has been open to the public.
When I started college in New York City, I would freely drop into a physics seminar given at universities throughout the city.
Although such seminars might be directed to faculty, students, and postdocs [as opposed to the general public], they have still been open to the general public.

[Welcome: I used to live in Amherst.]

 

[Kevinkevinkevin]

Thank you for the information, Astronuc. I will see about contacting the CTP. Thank you for relating your experience, robphy, and thank you for the welcome. I like Amherst a lot. I've also found some math study groups in Cambridge on meetup.com that would help give me a good foundation for the physics I want to study, some of which actually meet at MIT. So, I'll be looking into some of these as well... While I like dabbling in topics I'm interested in on my own, having people around who care about the same things I do would help me immensely.