2023 Graduation Special (part 2)

diploma-and-graduation-hatWith graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 2 of our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists and engineers who have or will soon receive their Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what they have planned next.

Dhruv KedarPhysics
Topic: A Fully Crystalline Cryogenic Reference Cavity

 

Kathleen McGuireAnthropology
Topic: Navigating the Needs of the Many and the Few: Examining the Relationship between Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) Group Function and Individual Variation on St. Catherines Island

Brian AldenAstrophysical & Planetary Sciences
Topic: Investigating the Properties of Merging Galaxy Clusters with Radio Halos/Relics Using X-ray Derived Pressure Maps

 

You can listen to Part 1 of this year’s special or all past year Graduation Special episodes.

Host / Producer : Joel Parker
Executive Producer
: Shelley Schlender

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Honeybee Trials and Tribulations

This week on How on Earth, Beth replays in interview with Professor Mike Breed, who has been studying social insects, including ants and bees, at the University of Colorado here in Boulder, for decades. She spoke with him last year about the fascinating biology of these important pollinators, in an interview that is still timely, because the many problems facing honeybees, and other bees are continuing to mount. He describes the challenges these important insects face in the modern world, and what we can do to protect them.

Executive Producer: HOE Team
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Additional Contributions:Benita Lee & Joel Parker
Engineer: Sam Fuqua

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Gold Lab Symposium on Science and Health

CU-Boulder’s 14th annual Gold Lab Symposium on the Science of Health takes place this Thursday and Friday at CU-Boulder’s Muenzinger Auditorium and on line.   You can sign up for the symposium  here.   In today’s show, Larry Gold, founder, scientist and entrepreneur, talks about some key scientific discoveries being discussed at this year’s symposium, along with the implications for health and health care.

This week, we focus one on of the new findings that will be discussed at the Symposium, in a talk by scientists. Andreas Beyer & Argyris Papantonis
The talk is titled, “Living in the Fast Lane: Accelerated Copying of Genetic Information with Aging.”  For more about the science paper from Nature related to this topic, go here.

Host / Producer : Shelley Schlender

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2023 Graduation Special (part 1)

diploma-and-graduation-hatWith graduation season upon us, today’s edition of How on Earth is Part 1 of our annual “Graduation Special”. Our guests in the studio today are scientists and engineers who have or will soon receive their Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in a STEM-related field.  They talk about their thesis research, their grad school experiences, and what they have planned next.

Rob Streeter – Electrical Engineering
Topic: High-resolution Deep-tissue Microwave Thermometry

 

Amanda HamptonApplied Math
Topic: On the Three-Dimensional, Quadratic Diffeomorphism: Anti-integrability, Attractors, and Chaos


Jacob Kravits
– Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering
Topic: Balancing Cost, Water, Emissions, and Reliability in Power Systems Operations

You can listen to Part 2 of this year’s special or all past year Graduation Special episodes.

Host / Producer : Joel Parker
Executive Producer : Shelley Schlender

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Chasing Heirloom Seeds with the Seed Detective

In this week’s show Beth speaks with Adam Alexander, author of The Seed Detective, a treasure trove of stories about heirloom seeds and the plants they grow into. Not only does he entertain with his adventures in exotic places, but he also takes the reader on a journey through the history of many common cultivated plants such as peas, lettuce, brussels sprouts, and beans.
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett and Shelley Schlender
Show Producer: Beth Bennett and Colette Czarnecky
Engineer: Shannon Young

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Green Energy & Nuclear Power

Iceland Geothermal – NesjavellirPowerPlant

Energy  Technology that will Power the World (Entire Show)  We look at a climate change discussion from CU-Boulder’s Conference on World Affairs about our Energy Future – where the panelists included ideas about hydrogen, geothermal and nuclear power . . . and we get audience reaction both pro . . and con.

Go here for complete 90-minute video recorded panel discussion

Experts featured include:

Also interviewed in this episode is Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center member, Rich Andrews.

Producer/Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender

Music contributions:  Bonobo and Hydrogen Seas.

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Your Brain On (and off) Chronic Pain: Part I

chronic pain on the brain

Chronic pain science and treatments (start time: 4:27) In this week’s show host Susan Moran interviews two experts on the emerging neuroscience of and mind-body treatments for chronic pain, which is a leading cause of disability in the U.S. As many as one in five Americans suffer from chronic pain. The problem has cost the country more than $600 billion in treatments and lost work-time. Our guests today are at the forefront of research and clinical treatment of chronic pain. Dr. Yoni Ashar is an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in the Department of Internal Medicine. Several years ago he led the Boulder Back Pain Study on a mind-body program called Pain Reprocessing Therapy.  Brad Fanestil, MD, is an internist and the director of the Center for Mind Body Medicine at Boulder Community Health. Stay tuned for details on a Part II discussion on mind-body medical treatments for chronic pain, anxiety and other ailments.
Relevant resources:
* New randomized back-pain study (led by Dr. Ashar) seeks subjects.
* The Way Out, by Alan Gordon
* Lecture by Dr. Fanestil on treating chronic pain with mind-body medicine
* Curable app for managing chronic pain

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Shelley Schlender
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Easter Candy Risks & Real Easter Daisies

We share news about upcoming science events, cancer-causing additives in Easter candy, and we hunt for Colorado’s native Easter Daisies.

By Jialiang Gao www.peace-on-earth.org

Tibetan Watershed in Danger (Starts 1:00Lobsang Yangtso speaks 11 AM Wednesday at CU Boulder about the crucial need to protect Tibet’s “Roof of the World” and its role in the world water supply.  Wednesday’s 11 AM Seminar is also on Zoom.

The Nuclear Legacy of Rocky Flats.  (Starts 3:52) Regis University conducts this symposium tonight with  keynote speaker Kris Iversen, author of Full Body Burden, Growing up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats.

From Environmental Working Group

Cancer Causing Additives in Easter Candy   (Starts 10:20) The Environmental Working Group  wants to ban Easter Candy ingredients that carry a cancer risk

C Stephen R. Jones

Boulder’s Native Easter Daisies  (Starts 15:20) We join Boulder Naturalists Steve Jones and Ruth Carol Cushman, as they hunt for a deep-rooted little flower called the Easter Daisy along Boulder’s geologic wonder known as the Six Mile Fold.

Host & Show Producer: Shelley Schlender
Engineer: Shannon Young
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

 

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How to Make STEM Better

Today on How on Earth, Beth speaks with William Penuel, faculty in the School of Education at CU Boulder, and part of the Renee Crown Wellness Institute. He designs and studies curriculum materials, assessments, and professional learning experiences for teachers in STEM education, especially in science. His work is beginning to focus more on cultivating compassion and dignity in schools and on promoting equitable collaboration in small group learning in STEM classrooms.
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Show Producer: Beth Bennett
Additional Contributions: Joel Parker
Engineer: Shannon Young

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Water Reuse for the Arid West

Photo credit: WateReuse Colorado

Water Recycling for Climate Resilience (start time: 7:54) When you poured tap water into your coffee maker this morning, or flushed the toilet, you may not have been thinking about where that water came from, or where it flowed to next. Pegged to World Water Week, on this week’s How On Earth host Susan Moran interviews Austa Parker, PhD, an environmental engineer who is a consultant for the firm Brown and Caldwell on national water-reuse issues. She formerly worked for Denver Water and as an adjunct professor at CU Boulder. Our discussion focuses on direct potable reuse (DPR), the process of transforming treated wastewater, including human effluence, into drinking water. Climate change, intensifying droughts and population growth in the already parched U.S. West are pressuring states and cities to pursue DPR as a means of becoming more climate-resilient.
Resource links:
WateReuse Colorado
WateReuse Association (national)
Colorado’s regulations (passed in late 2022) on direct potable reuse

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
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