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PODCAST

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast

U.S. National Science Foundation

This is the Discovery Files Podcast from the U.S. National Science Foundation. Join us as we explore the latest breakthroughs in science, technology and engineering with the researchers making these discoveries. Learn how scientific innovation bolsters the U.S. economy, supports our Nation’s interests around the globe, and improves the lives of Americans.

science

All Episodes

23:33

Shape of Lithium

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/08/28

Yuzhang Li, assistant professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering at UCLA, is working to create the next generation of batteries. We'll learn about why lithium is volatile and how knowing the true shape of lithium will impact the development of safer and more powerful batteries.

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21:07

Revealing Cryptofauna

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/08/21

Cryptofauna are creatures that live hidden among microhabitats. Our guest is Paul Sikkel, a research professor at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science who has discovered two species of Gnathiid isopods. We’ll hear about these creatures' life cycles, their role in the marine food web, and why Sikkel named them after musicians Bob Marley and Jimmy Buffett.

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12:30

Forests in a Changing Climate

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/08/14

William Anderegg, director of the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy and associate professor in The University of Utah School of Biological Sciences, joins to discuss how forest ecosystems are reacting to climate change. He is a 2023 recipient of the Alan T. Waterman Award, the nation's highest honor for early-career scientists and engineers.

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23:20

Wildfires in a Changing Climate

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/08/07

Extreme weather events are increasing every year and wildfires are getting worse. We speak with Phil Higuera, a professor of fire ecology at the University of Montana, to explore the causes and consequences of wildfires and how they are impacting people and the environment.

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21:55

I Am STEM

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/07/31

A major initiative at the NSF, is broadening participation in STEM. Our guest today, Natalie S. King, a science educator at Georgia State University founded the I AM STEM program in 2017 which has served over 2,000 K-12 children and their families across 22 U.S. States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Her work was recently recognized with the Alan T. Waterman Award, the nation’s highest honor for early-career scientists and engineers.

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15:58

Revolutionizing Cancer Screening

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/07/24

A new integrated HPV DNA screening platform could transform cervical cancer screening around the globe. We'll speak with Kathryn Kundrod, who helped develop the test as an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship recipient at Rice University, to learn about the challenges with cancer screening and how researchers are working to prevent it.

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16:23

Self-Healing Skin

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/07/17

A new polymer-based material with electrical and magnetic properties that can autonomously heal itself has been demonstrated by NSF-supported chemical engineers at Stanford University. We speak with co-author Christopher B. Cooper to learn more about this innovative work being done at the Stanford Nano Shared Facilities.

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16:06

Gravitational Waves With Kip Thorne

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/07/10

Thanks to the efforts of the NSF-Supported Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory and NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center scientists have confirmed the existence of gravitational waves. We are joined by Kip Thorne, to hear about his role in the detection of gravitational waves, his experience being awarded a Nobel Prize and how time travel might be possible.

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24:10

Gravitational Waves Announcement

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/06/29

Thanks to the efforts of the U.S. National Science Foundation's NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center a new milestone in gravitational wave detection can be revealed. We speak with Stephen Taylor of Vanderbilt University; Maura McLaughlin of West Virginia University; and Xavier Siemens of Oregon State University, to learn more about their breakthrough.

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31:22

Black Holes and Space Breakthroughs

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/06/26

From black holes and fast repeating bursts to James Webb Space Telescope breakthroughs and the search for extraterrestrial life, space has been a hot topic this past year. Joe Pesce, an astrophysicist with the U.S. National Science Foundation, joins us to talk about all things space in a special episode recorded live.

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23:33

Creating Accessibility

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/06/19

The University of Washington's Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences (CREATE) is working towards a world with fewer problems and more solutions for people with disabilities. We are joined by CREATE collaborators Jennifer Mankoff and Heather Feldner to hear about their projects and the difference they are making.

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25:22

Camp Century Cores

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/06/12

During the Cold War, a U.S. military installation called Camp Century was carved out of the ice sheet in Greenland. One of the camp’s projects was drilling a near mile-long ice core, which in the subsequent decades went missing. We are joined by Paul Bierman, a geologist and professor at the University of Vermont, who will tell us about the secretive base, where the missing ice core was found and the staggering discovery he found at the bottom of the core.

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18:57

Ubiquitous Computing

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/06/05

Shwetak Patel leads the University of Washington Ubiquitous Computing Lab, which develops innovative sensing systems for health, sustainability and novel interactions. He will tell us about his experience bringing devices to market, mentoring the next generation and where sensors are headed next.

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17:08

Inventing The Future

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/05/29

Cori Lathan has always had an interest in technology. She has spent her career inventing, founding and running a company, Anthrotronix, and inspiring STEM interest in future generations through robotics. Her recent book, "Inventing the Future: Stories from a Techno Optimist" explores the possibilities of tomorrow through her 20-year career journey. She joins us to discuss some of her inventions, how NSF support has helped her along the way, and her optimism for the future.

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17:50

Coding Beats

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/05/22

Jason Freeman, professor of music and Brian Magerko, professor of digital media at Georgia Tech had an idea for a music-based learning environment to engage students in STEM by coding. EarSketch has gone on to reach over a million users, has been used in more than 5,000 schools in all 50 states and over 180 countries and has collaborated with music partners such as Pharrell, Young Guru, Common and Richard Devine. We'll hear from Jason Freeman, Brian Magerko, and Richard Devine on how it became a

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22:15

Subglacial Secrets of Antarctica

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/05/15

The vast wilderness of Antarctica has many secrets, and to reveal some, you must dig down into the subglacial environment. We are joined by Matthew Siegfried and Ryan Venturelli from the Colorado School of Mines to learn about their involvement in SALSA, the Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access project.

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14:01

Horses In the American West

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/05/08

Horses evolved in North America, but ancient populations died off during the last ice age. We are joined by William Taylor, assistant professor, and curator of archaeology at the University of Colorado Boulder, to learn about how horses impacted the shaping of the American West.

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19:41

Hollywood's Trolley Problem

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/05/01

A recurring dramatic trope in film and television relates to the trolley problem, wherein a dilemma arises in which choice must be made to save one or another. We are joined by Joshua Greene, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, who has spent much of his career studying moral judgment and decision-making.

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15:36

Avoiding AI Plagiarism

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/04/24

Jooyoung Lee, a doctoral student at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology, joins us to talk about her research on plagiarism from language models in popular online chatbots.

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17:46

Reconstructing Black Hole Images

NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast ·

2023/04/14

The landmark first image of a black hole, at the center of the Messier 87 galaxy, has received a makeover with the help of machine learning. Lia Medeiros, an astrophysicist at the Institute for Advanced Study joins to discuss how she used PRIMO to reach the full resolution of the Event Horizon Telescope and what impacts it will have on black hole physics.

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180 results

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