In this episode Cameron interviews Dr. Sarah Truebe, the cave resource manager at Kartchner Caverns State Park in Arizona. This episode was recorded underground at the end of a day we spent cleaning graffiti out of this popular wild cave. We di

Episode 20 – Room Temperature Superconductivity Controversy

Aug 17th, 2018 36m 37s

We’re back! You may have heard about some controversy surrounding a recent pre-print published on the arxiv about room temperature superconductivity. This would be an extremely exciting result if it weren’t for some issues. The authors won’t

Episode 19 – 2015 Perihelion Edition

Feb 3rd, 2015 57m 35s

Welcome to 2015! This year’s perihelion edition was recorded on the day which the earth is closest to the sun. We cover a diverse list of important scientific and engineering happenings from 2014, and even talk about a little biology and genom

Episode 18 – Space Space Space

Oct 14th, 2014 55m 44s

We’re finally back from our long hiatus! Sorry about the wait, both Cameron and Emily were busy getting their masters degrees, and right after he submitted his thesis, Cameron’s laptop got fried! This week we discuss Space X and Boeing contrac

PULSE! #4 – Better Coffee Through Chemistry

Jun 19th, 2014 23m 5s

Most coffee-particular people already know that the quality of the water you use is important for good coffee, but a recent paper describes how affecting the specific hard mineral content can have important changes in the relative extraction of

Episode 17 – Life, The Universe, and Frogs

Jun 5th, 2014 1h 11m

This week on LASER we discuss a realistic computer simulation of a universe, a proposed mechanism for why tin whiskers are destroying our most sensitive computers, and GaInSn liquid metal used to reconnect severed nerves in frogs. 5:00 Our firs

Episode 16 – Sun & Surf

May 16th, 2014 1h

Source: The WikipediaFor our first episode of the summer on LASER: Let’s Agree Science & Engineering are Rad, we discuss our own Chris’ recently-accepted paper about inorganic ZnS window layers on organic solar cells. These increase the effic

LASER Pulse! #3 – The Heartbleed

Apr 16th, 2014 22m 59s

This week’s LASER Pulse! is about the Heartbleed computer vulnerability. We cover the basics of the heartbleed bug, why its important, and mention that you really need to CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS. Because this is a Pulse episode, there are litt

Episode 15 – Airships for the Future

Apr 9th, 2014 1h 24m

The cast of the Technically Speaking Podcast join us to talk with about the future of super rad airships for scientific use similar to satellites! We also talk about a company planning a new method for extracting Lithium from geothermal vents,

Episode 14 – Filters and Photodetectors

Mar 26th, 2014 54m 50s

On Episode 14 of LASER we discuss using tree branches as water filters, a new type of super-thin room temperature infrared light detector that uses graphene, and the $1 Origami Microscope. 4:05 The article in Popular Mechanics titled “A simple

Episode 13 – Microgravity

Mar 12th, 2014 1h 4m

This week is all about Microgravity! Chase and Cameron interview some members of the ASU Dust Devils Experiment about their plans to take dust into microgravity and learn more about how planets are formed! Then we talk about ISS experiments for

Episode 12 – Laserbones

Feb 27th, 2014 55m 16s

On this week’s show– Laserbones–Chris and Cameron discuss laser-3-D-Printed materials based on bones (lasers & bones), the use of cremated remains for synthetic diamonds (bones), and potential space mirror technologies made out of laser-trapped

Episode 11 – Plant Materials

Feb 12th, 2014 1h 6m

This week on LASER we have a plant materials themed episode where we discuss cellulose nanocrystals for use in composites, using plants as wires for computing, and using green tea to synthesize gold nano-stars for cancer treatments, drug delive

Episode 10 – Perovskites, Gold, and 3-D Metal Printing

Feb 1st, 2014 1h 5m

This week on LASER we discuss Perovskite solar cells with organic charge transport layers, the horrible health effects of illegal backyard gold ore refining in Indonesia, and a new free open source metal 3-d printer from Michigan Tech. This sho

Short Update & Help LASER!

Jan 24th, 2014 2m 2s

Just a quick update about our plans for the future, and some begging for ratings and reviews, topic suggestions, and interviews.Now that we’re 10 episodes deep, and finally getting the hang of this podcasting thing, its time to start trying to

Episode 9 – Space, Robots, & the FUTURE

Jan 16th, 2014 1h 18m

(sources: schaft and NASA)This week on LASER, a super-sized cast discusses Semiconductor design/processing, Google robots and the DARPA robotics Challenge, a proposed form of space-based propulsion called e-sails, and the extension of the ISS

Episode 8 – Special Perihelion Edition

Jan 5th, 2014 1h 8m

This is our special perihelion edition, where we celebrate being closest to our sun by reviewing some of the best science and engineering stories of 2013. Today we’re a whopping 4% closer to the sun than at the furthest point. This episode sp

Episode 7 – The Battery Outbreak

Dec 18th, 2013 59m 34s

This week on LASER, Emily and Cameron discuss batteries built by modified viruses, charge-dependent crystal changes of Lithium/Selenium-Sulfer Batteries, and Microbiological fuel cells built on natural loofah sponges. 1:15 we start on “Better

Episode 6 – Fukushima Roll

Dec 6th, 2013 1h 19m

In Episode 6 – Fukushima Roll – we discuss whether tuna contaminated by the Fukushima disaster is safe to eat, canceled plans for a wind farm off the coast of the UK, and a new advancement in nanostructuring superhydrophobic materials for even

Episode 5 – Old News

Nov 20th, 2013 1h 7m

In Episode 5 – Old News, we discuss “space” tourism balloons (Hindenburg), photonic crystals applied to photovoltaic solar cells, and million year data storage in fancy Q-R codes (iPods for immortal elves?). 2:30 we “jump right into it” (af

Pulse! 2 – 3D Printed Liquid Metal Microstructures

Nov 5th, 2013 25m 53s

This week the Pulse! episode is a story we had to cut from Episode 4. The show would have been way too long otherwise, so we chopped off the last story, and put it here for you! Alex, Emily, and Greg join me in the discussion. This episode is

Episode 4 – Rigid Opaque Governing Bodies

Oct 30th, 2013 1h 13m

In Episode 4 of LASER, we discuss new ionic conductor materials with applications in biomedicine and in technology, talk with Ben Tippett of the Titanium Physicists Podcast the politics of scientific funding in Canada, and how the US government

Episode 3 – Lasers, Lasers Everywhere

Oct 14th, 2013 1h 10m

This week on LASER we discuss Light Sabers, building Atomic Force Microscopes out of LEGO, a short film from IBM Research Labs, water on Mars, and blasting asteroids with tiny laser satellites, with only a little off-topic discussion of webcomi

Episode 2- A Giant Leap for Frogkind

Sep 30th, 2013 59m 29s

We have two new hosts for this episode, Sivan and Matt co-host with Cameron. The discussion includes spider silk coated with carbon nanotubes, the Voyager 1 space probe leaving the solar system, Frank the Frog, the most accurate atomic clock to

Pulse! 1 Glass, Graphene, and Magnesium

Sep 26th, 2013 10m 8s

Here is the first LASER Pulse! episode. These are short 10-30 minute updates that will fit in between the regular fortnightly release schedule. Today’s show briefly covers three new materials science news stories that otherwise wouldn’t make