Eray Aydil from the University of Minnesota joins the podcast to discuss surfaces — the boundaries between two phases. We talk about what they are, how they're interrogated, and why they’re important. Along the way, we also touch on the changing relationship between academia and industry, the importance of serendipity in scientific discovery, and how maintaining enthusiasm during early college courses is surprisingly indicative of future success in science and engineering. (Recorded on November 10, 2016 from the 63rd AVS Symposium and Exhibition in Nashville, Tennessee)
22: Alphabet Energy - That’s a useless thermoelectric material
John Reifenberg, Jeff Weisse, and Tapan Patel from the start-up company Alphabet Energy join the podcast to discuss something all around us: heat. Alphabet Energy is trying to harvest waste heat and, in doing so, increase the energy efficiency of cars, chemical plants, refrigerators, and much more. We focus on thermoelectrics — devices that convert heat into electrical energy. We discuss what’s needed for thermoelectrics to become mainstream products, what’s missed when peak materials performance is overemphasized, and the difficulty of translating laboratory-based fabrication techniques into large-scale manufacturing. (Recorded on October 18, 2016)
Show Notes:
Reid Wilson - "The South’s Disastrous Response to the Winter Storm, in Pictures"
DOE - "Waste Heat Recovery: Technology and Opportunities in U.S. Industry"
Allon Hochbaum et al - "Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Rough Silicon Nanowires"
Adam Lorimer, Co-Founder & VP of Engineering of Alphabet Energy
Suzanne Jacobs - "Thermoelectric Material to Hit Market Later This Year"
Katie Fehrenbacher - "This Startup Is Turning Gas Flares Into Power"
Jessica Shankleman - "Tim Cook Tells Climate Change Skeptics to Ditch Apple Shares"
21: Chris Toumey - Writing is a lot of hard work
Chris Toumey is an anthropologist who specializes in the societal and cultural issues surrounding nanotechnology. We cover a lot of ground in our discussion, including the origins of nanotechnology, how its potential to fundamentally impact the human condition make it ripe for individual interpretation, how different religious groups view nanotechnology, and much more. (Recorded on September 27, 2016)
Show Notes:
Chris Toumey - "Apostolic Succession: Does Nanotechnology Descend from Richard Feynman’s 1959 Talk?"
K. Eric Drexler - "Molecular Engineering: An approach to the Development of General Capabilities for Molecular Manipulation", "Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology”, "Radical Abundance: How a Revolution in Nanotechnology Will Change Civilization"
Nanowerk News - "Concerns about Nanotechnology Washing Machine"
How Stuff Works - "What is the Problem with MTBE in Gasoline?"
20: Mark Hersam - You get a phone call out of the blue
Mark Hersam is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University and a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant winner. He's a pioneer in the area of nanomaterials separations, the processes by which nanomaterials are purified. We chat about the impact of his lab’s breakthrough demonstration of carbon nanotube purification, the perceived value of separations in general, the commercial status of the technology, and the road ahead. (Recorded on September 20, 2016)
19: Doug Natelson - Look, I'm a physicist, I have met people like Sheldon
Doug Natelson is a different kind of geek. He's an expert in the physics of nanoscale materials, but he’s also a world-class science communicator. Doug authors the blog Nanoscale Views, where he writes about a range of general interest and technical topics. We talk about his lab's studies of heating at the nanoscale, his love of blogging, and his recently published textbook on nanotechnology. (Recorded on September 1, 2016)
Show Notes:
18: Ivan Oransky - It would be both inadvisable and highly illegal for me to treat any patients
Ivan Oransky is the co-founder (with his colleague Adam Marcus) of Retraction Watch, a website that tracks retractions in the scientific literature. This episode was recorded during Ivan's visit to Georgia Tech to give the Phillips 66 / C.J. "Pete" Silas Program in Ethics and Leadership lecture. We discussed his motivations for starting Retraction Watch, the reasons for the rising number of retractions, and what drives (a very small number of) scientists to commit fraud. (Recorded on August 31, 2016)
Show Notes:
Phillips 66 / C.J. “Pete” Silas Program in Ethics and Leadership
Ferric Fang et al - "Misconduct Accounts for the Majority of Retracted Scientific Publications"
Alison McCook - "New Retraction Watch Partnership Will Create Retraction Database"
Gaming Metrics: Innovation & Surveillance in Academic Misconduct
Ivan Oransky and Adam Marcus - "Are ‘Predatory’ Publishers’ Days Numbered?"
Sarah Kaplan - "Major Publisher Retracts 64 Scientific Papers in Fake Peer Review Outbreak"
17: Taylor Harvey - I’m not going to give you any money to do it, but you should do it
Taylor Harvey is the co-founder of Lucelo Technologies, a company working on low cost solar cell manufacturing. We chat about what’s really needed in the solar market, the often frustrating challenge of raising capital, and how an initially niche product can eventually disrupt incumbent players. Somehow skiing, autocorrect, Chuck E. Cheese, and theatrical stage lighting make cameos along the way. (Recorded on August 9, 2016)
16: Mark Styczynski - The yeast are just as smart as before I got them
Mark Styczynski is a systems biologist and Associate Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech. He knows very little about nanotechnology, but that's the point. We discuss what biotechnologists and nanotechnologists don't understand about each other and how they might collaborate in the future. (Recorded on August 3, 2016)
15: Jordi Arbiol - Anyone can do TEM
Jordi Arbiol from the Catalan Institute for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Barcelona, Spain joins the podcast to talk about electron microscopy and its remarkable ability to visualize nanomaterials in atomic-level detail. (Recorded on July 19, 2016)
Show Notes:
European Materials Research Society (E-MRS) EU-40 Materials Prize
Daniel Jacobsson et al - "Interface Dynamics and Crystal Phase Switching in GaAs Nanowires"
Joachim Mayer - "TEM Sample Preparation and FIB-Induced Damage"
Peter Ercius - "3D Imaging of Nanostructures Using Electron Tomography"
Rowan Leary - "Chromatic Aberration Correction: The Next Step in Electron Microscopy"
14: Matthew Realff - There's no free lunch
Special guest Matthew Realff from the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech joins the show. We chat about wind energy, carpet recycling, coke bottles, sucking carbon dioxide out of the air, and the "chemical engineering-ification" of nanomaterials manufacturing. (Recorded on June 24, 2016)
Show Notes:
Jo Borrás - "Instant Torque And Blazing Speeds The Best Thing About Electric Cars"
Eli Kintisch - "Can Sucking CO2 Out of the Atmosphere Really Work?"
Computer History Museum - "From Sand to Silicon: Integrated Circuit Design and Manufacturing"
Mark Hersam - "Progress Towards Monodisperse Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes"