August 15, 2018
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Georgia Tech researchers help a blind man “hear” the 2017 solar eclipse, search for vaccines against deadly parasitic diseases, and rappel deep into caves in search of fossils. Here’s a preview of what’s to come in the inaugural season of ScienceMatters, the podcast of the Georgia Tech College of Sciences.
Renay San Miguel:- "Hello and welcome to Science Matters, the podcast of the Georgia Tech College of Sciences. I’m your host, Renay San Miguel.
You didn’t ask, but I’ll tell you anyway: My background includes being a technology reporter for CNBC, CNN and Headline News. I’ve been yelled at by Bill Gates and preached to by Steve Jobs. I’ve covered the rise of the Internet and mobile devices, social media and apps.
Some of those technology trends you’ve come to associate with Georgia Tech, along with high-performance computing, robotics, cybersecurity, and aerospace engineering.
But Georgia Tech is also very much about curiosity-driven discovery, much of which happens in the College of Sciences. We created this podcast to pull back the curtain on the research in the College of Sciences. We want to tell you about the – very cool – science happening at Tech – not just in our labs and in our interdisciplinary programs, but also with other groups in the U.S. and worldwide, and with funding agencies like NASA, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation.
It’s important work -- just as, if not more, important than who’s got the next killer financial technology app. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but you need to know about this research. Because wherever you turn in the physical world, science matters. It may affect you. It may change our view of ourselves as humans, our planet, our solar system, our universe.
All that research is made possible by top-notch brainpower here at Georgia Tech College of Sciences. Thanks to our award-winning faculty, and our enterprising students -- many of whom are undergrads – you’ll hear about the latest scientific adventures of curiosity leading to discovery. We'll also bring you the latest hot happenings in science and mathematics with perspectives from our experts.
We’ll make it fun, compelling, never boring. We’re after “Wow” and “Aha” moments, brought to you from busy North Avenue in midtown Atlanta, by one of the top public research universities in the world. [MUSIC]" - Renay San Miguel:
- "For example, you'll hear how a School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences professor spends her summers: Rappelling 80 feet into a massive North Dakota cave to see if lessons from the past can teach us about our planet's future. "
- Jenny McGuire:
- "I say that I have just a tough commute to do the paleontology but it's well worth it for the fossil resources that are in there. It's also a challenge to get the fossils back out. [MUSIC]"
- Renay San Miguel:
- "You'll hear the story of the celebrated School of Chemistry and Biochemistry researcher who's using tiny golden nanorods to try and stop cancer cells before they can spread. His research is in honor of his late wife, who died from the disease."
- Mostafa El-Sayed:
- “The enemy is cancer. Because to her..I’ve seen it in person for her. Billions of people see it in their family. I get email every day. [MUSIC]”
- Renay San Miguel:
- "And you'll listen to a School of Biological Sciences professor describe how he studies what's called "the physics of living systems" by researching how certain insects move."
- Simon Sponberg:
- "And one of the ways that we're doing that is that we're making moths play video games in virtual reality. [MUSIC]"
- Renay San Miguel:
- "Join us for stories of discovery and achievement in the sciences and mathematics. Season one, coming your way on Aug. 20.For a sneak peek, visit sciencematters-dot-gatech-dot-edu. ScienceMatters, the podcast of the Georgia Tech College of Sciences."
