Sustainable Nano

This episode of the podcast features an interview with University of Minnesota graduate student Peter Clement, discussing the book The War on Science by Shawn Otto. We focus on Otto’s explanation of the Seven Stages of Technological Adaptation — an observation that how our society adapts new technology has generally repeated the same sequence of steps over and over, from discovery through crisis and adaptation, especially since the mid-20th Century. (image from amazon.com) https://sustainablenano.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/bookreview-waronscience.mp3   Want more podcast episodes? You can find them all on our podcast page, or you can subscribe on  iTunes or  Stitcher. You can also find us on the National Science Foundation’s Science360 Radio network. ABOUT THIS EPISODE Related links : Shawn Otto and The War on Science Sustainable Nano blog post on DDT Peter’s book review blog post – coming soon! Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology Interviewee :  Peter Clement Producer/Narrator : Miriam Krause **Music sou

On this episode of the Sustainable Nano podcast, we talk about one example of how nanotechnology is changing something many people use every day: bikes! Margy Robinson, a graduate student in the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology and a competitive cyclist, explains how carbon nanotubes and graphene are currently being incorporated into some high-end bicycles. Floyd Landis racing on a carbon fiber bike in 2006  (photo by Michael David Murphy) https://sustainablenano.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/ep8-nanotech-bicycles.mp3   For more information, check out Margy’s blog posts on this topic:  Nanomaterials in Bicycles???? Part 1 and  Part 2. Want more podcast episodes? You can find them all on our podcast page, or you can subscribe on  iTunes or  Stitcher. You can also find us on the National Science Foundation’s Science360 Radio network. ABOUT THIS EPISODE Related links : CNT Infused Carbon Fiber in Bicycles Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology Interviewee :  Margy Robinson Producer/Narrator : Miriam Krause

Why do glaciers sometimes look blue? Hint: it’s not for the same reason we see blue as the color of the sky! On this episode of the podcast, we have an interview with Dr. Robert Hamers, following up on  his recent blog post. Bob is the Director of the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, and he tells us about a recent family trip to Alaska that got him wondering about why some glaciers have an amazing blue color. CSN Director Bob Hamers in front of Holgate Glacier  (photo by Bob Hamers) https://sustainablenano.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/whyglacierslookblue1.mp3   Stay tuned for more podcast episodes coming every other week this fall! You can find them all on our podcast page, or you can subscribe on  iTunes or  Stitcher. You can also find us on the National Science Foundation’s Science360 Radio network. ABOUT THIS EPISODE Related links : Kenai Fjords National Park: Harding Icefield Rayleigh Scattering (AKA why the sky is blue!) Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology Interviewee :  Prof. Bob Hamers Produ

October 9, 2016 was the first ever National Nanotechnology Day (10/9 = 10-9 for nano!). On this episode of the Sustainable Nano podcast, we talk with Dr. Lisa Friedersdorf, Deputy Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, about National Nanotechnology Day, activities like  #100BillionNanometers, the Nobel Prize, and this year’s Generation Nano superhero contest. image by the Hinkle Group https://sustainablenano.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/ep6-nationalnanotechday.mp3   Stay tuned for more podcast episodes coming every other week this fall! You can find them all on our podcast page, or you can also subscribe on  iTunes or  Stitcher. ABOUT THIS EPISODE Relevant links: National Nanotechnology Initiative: Nano.gov Nobel Prize in Chemistry: press release and [Sustainable Nano blog post](http://sustainable-nano.com/2016/10/07/how-to-understand-nobel-science/ ‎) Generation Nano Contest National Ice Cream Day and National Doughnut Day Interviewee : Dr. Lisa Friedersdorf Host/Producer : Miriam Kr

As you may have heard, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration recently announced a ban on using the antibacterial agent triclosan (and 18 other substances) in soaps, and then last week the issue of antibacterial resistance was discussed at the UN General Assembly. In this episode of the Sustainable Nano podcast, we talk with scientist Eric Melby about different types of antibacterial chemicals and why we should care about triclosan in the environment. Soap with triclosan? Not any more! (image by Kelly Thomas) https://sustainablenano.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/ep5-triclosan.mp3   Stay tuned for more podcast episodes coming every other week this fall! You can find them all on our podcast page, you can  subscribe on iTunes, or starting this week you can also find us on Stitcher. ABOUT THIS EPISODE Relevant links: Eric’s blog post:  Is Triclosan Safe? What You Should Know About This Antibacterial Chemical NPR article by Alison Kodjak:  FDA Bans 19 Chemicals Used In Antibacterial Soaps New York Times article

Welcome to episode 4 of the Sustainable Nano podcast! In this final new episode of our launch week, we interview the three high school student finalists from NSF’s  Generation Nano contest about their amazing nanotechnology-based superheroes.   image credit: Vegas Bleeds Neon https://sustainablenano.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/generationnano.mp3   Stay tuned for future episodes coming every other week this fall. You can find them here on the blog, or subscribe on iTunes. ABOUT THIS EPISODE Related links : Generation Nano program page Big winners in small science challenge take center stage (NSF press release 16-043) YouTube: Wil Wheaton Hosts Gen Nano Awards show with message from Stan Lee STEM to STEAM Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology Interviewees : Madeleine Chang, Eric Liu, Vuong Mai, Prof. Suveen Mathaudhu Producers/Narrators : Miriam Krause & Melissa Richardson **Music sources: ** Our music is by  Ketsa (from the Free Music Archive) and sound effects are from ZapSplat. Tagged: art, generatio

Welcome to episode 3 of the Sustainable Nano podcast! In this episode, we talk about a recent research study that looked at how one type of battery nanomaterial affects bacteria called Shewanella oneidensis. We interview Mimi Hang and Ian Gunsolus, who were co-first authors of the study as graduate students in the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology. The Nissan Leaf is one example of an electric car that uses NMC in its batteries (image by Tennen-Gas) https://sustainablenano.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/nmc-091416.mp3   The study may sound familiar to regular blog readers – Mimi summarized it in this post and it got some media attention, which we wrote about here and here. Wrapping up our podcast launch week we will have one more new episode coming tomorrow (nanotechnology superheroes!). After that we will switch to an every-other-week schedule. Be sure to subscribe on iTunes so you don’t miss an episode! Or if you’re not an iTunes person, you can always still listen here on the blog. ABOUT THIS EPISODE Re

Welcome to episode 2 of the Sustainable Nano podcast! In this episode, we talk with scientist M.G. Finn about how viruses are like (and unlike) nanoparticles, and some of the ways researchers want to use viruses to fight disease. A virus-like nanoparticle.  (image adapted with permission from Pokorski et al. (2011), copyright American Chemical Society) https://sustainablenano.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/viruses-82516-4-57-pm.mp3   We still have two more new episodes coming up this week! You can listen to them here on the blog or through iTunes. ABOUT THIS EPISODE Related links : The Finn Research Group Emory Center for Pediatric Nanomedicine Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology Virus-like nanoparticle image adapted from: Pokorski, J., Breitenkamp, K., Liepold, L., Qazi, S., & Finn, MG. Functional Virus-Based Polymer–Protein Nanoparticles by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2011, 133 (24), 9242–9245. DOI: 10.1021/ja203286n Interviewee : Professor M.G. Fin

What does “Sustainable Nano” even mean? On this pilot episode of our brand new podcast, we talk with the Director of the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, along with students, faculty, and a few complete strangers about some questions related to our Center’s research: What is nanotechnology? What is sustainability? And what does it mean when we put the two terms together? https://sustainablenano.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/pilot-sept6-9616-4-40-pm.mp3   We’ll be posting new episodes of the podcast Monday through Thursday this week, so stay tuned! You can find each episode here on the blog or on our podcast page, or you can subscribe on iTunes. ABOUT THIS EPISODE Related links : Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology NSF Centers for Chemical Innovation U of MN Sustainability Action fair Interviewees :  Dr. Bob Hamers,  Dr. Christy Haynes,  Dr. Zeev Rosenzweig,  Dr. Rebecca Klaper,  Dr. Ian Gunsolus, Andie Alton, Austin Hermann, Tamira Amin, Kyle Johnson, Maddy Meyer, Gus Millevolte,  Jared Bozich Produ

That’s right, Sustainable Nano is about to become a podcast! Podcast cover art! This new audio version of Sustainable Nano is launching next week. You can get a brief sample of what we have in store with this 3-minute preview episode: https://sustainablenano.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/preview-9916-9-20-am.mp3   Don’t worry, the Sustainable Nano blog that you know and love isn’t going anywhere! Although next week the blog will be dominated by podcast episodes, starting the week of September 19th we’ll resume our regular weekly(ish) schedule of written posts about nanotechnology, sustainability, and life in science. Tagged: nanotechnology, podcast