Professor Edward Felten
We discuss with Princeton Professor Edward Felten the recent hacking of American companies from within China, cyberattacks more broadly, and the United States’s cybersecurity capability. Recorded March 4.
Princeton Professor of Chemical Engineering, Yueh-Lin Loo, joins us to talk about “conducting polymers,” the exciting field of “plastic electronics,” and the new technique she invented that allows scientists to shape plastics into a useful form while maintaining high conductivity. Her breakthrough paves the way for plastics to replace metals in a wide range of electronic devices, including plastic solar panels.
Learn about polymers, find out how they can be made to conduct electricity, and imagine a world of plastic electronics. Listen here: Professor Lynn Loo 4-18-10.
A conversation with Eden Full, the teenage inventor whose system of “dynamic photovoltaics” could change the way we harness solar energy and make solar power a more viable option in the developing world. Learn about bimetallic strips, the power of bamboo, and the life of an inventor. Listen now!
A conversation with Princeton Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Michael McAlpine, about his invention of piezorubber—the new hybrid smart material that could change the way we power tomorrow’s portable devices and more…
Learn how some materials can convert mechanical energy into useful electricity via the piezoelectric effect. Discover how a quartz watch keeps accurate time. Hear about the exciting future applications of piezorubber. All here on wprb.com/news. Listen now!
photo credit: Frank Wojciechowski
This week on Discourse, Professor of Electrical Engineering Andrew Houck ’00 joins us to discuss the latest in quantum computing. Earlier this year, Professor Houck’s work in this exciting new field prompted the editors of Technology Review magazine to include him on their list of the top 35 young innovators for 2009. The TR35, as it is called, is described as an eclectic list of “technologists and scientists, all under the age of 35” whose work is changing the world. In our interview, Professor Houck explains what distinguishes quantum computers from classical computers, describes the fundamental building block of quantum computers (the “qubit”), and touches upon the most important question of theoretical computer science–”does p = np?” Listen here.
ProComKelly
This week, WPRB News is airing a two-part series Oct 25 and Nov 1. The Dispatch: Voices on Same Sex Marriage takes taking a look at how different groups have engaged the issue of gay unions. This week, Leif Johnson explores what happens when a University is asked to take a political stance, Sophie Jin visits a march in Washington DC, and historian Neil J. Young explains how one particular religious denomination, the Church of Latter Day Saints, became involved in the passage of California Proposition 8 last year.
CC-Licensed music from Evgeny Grinko, Learning Music, Sagan, Bomba Estereo.
Show segments:
Show Promo
Introduction
The Issue Comes to Campus
Scenes from a March
The show also included an interview with historian Neil J. Young, originally featured here on Discourse.
photo credit: adrienneserra
Alfred Miller sits down with Princeton Electrical Engineering professor Paul Prucnal and Princeton PhD student John Suarez. Professor Prucnal is head of the Lightwave Communications Laboratory. John Suarez is also a member of the laboratory. They’ll explain how they could make the Internet a thousand times faster using light.
Music from Evgeny Grinko and Sagan.
Listen to the promo and full show:
Promo
Full Show
Photo credit: kaibara87
From Discourse, Sunday April 19 at 12:30 pm EST, produced by Sophie Jin and Yihe Dong.
In this episode we take a look at the life cycle of a cell, and a particular state called “quiescence,” which may hold the key to developments in cancer research. Dong sits down with Hilary Coller, a leading molecular biologist at Princeton University, to discuss her work.
Photo credit: Wonderlane
From Discourse, Sunday April 12 at 12:00 pm EST, produced by Nikki Leon and Alfred Miller.
In this episode, we take a look at a new technology, “nanoimprint lithography” developed by Princeton University scientist Stephen Chou. We explore how this method of building things on a “nano” scale can be used in a variety of areas, from building microchips to examining DNA. Chou reflects his work with Science correspondent Alfred Miller. MIT’s Technology Review has named nanoimprint lithography one of the “10 emerging technologies that will change the world” twice—first in 2003, and again this year, for its applications in DNA sequencing.