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Archive for the ‘Science + Technology’ Category

Taking On: Daniel Kurtzer

We interview former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer on the Obama administration’s new approach to policy making in the Middle East, Israeli-Palestinian relations, and the future of the two-state solution. Recorded January 26.

Photo credit: Thomas Beck Photo on Flickr.

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Taking On: 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.

Photo credit: izzymunchted on Flickr

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Discourse: Plastic Electronics with Professor Lynn Loo

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.

photo credit: Hryck on flickr

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Discourse: Eden Full and Dynamic Photovoltaics

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!
[Audio [...]

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Discourse: Piezorubber with Professor Michael McAlpine

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 [...]

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Discourse: Quantum Computing with Professor Andrew Houck

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 [...]

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From The Dispatch: Voices on Same Sex Marriage, Part I

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.

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Discourse: Fiber Optics

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.

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The Latest in Cell Research

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 [...]

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The Latest in Nanotechnology

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 [...]

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