NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast

Revolutionizing Manufacturing

The NSF Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Autonomous Manufacturing Moving from Evolution to Revolution will accelerate the development and deployment of intelligent, autonomous manufacturing systems, enabling mass customization in local production facilities. We are joined by co-principal investigators Glenn Daehn and Jian Cao, as well as NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, Assistant Director for Engineering Susan Margulies, and ERC Program Director Sarit Bhaduri.  

Women in STEM

Representation is vital for inspiring the next generation, and the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are no different. Today we are joined by Karen Marrongelle, the NSF’s chief operating officer to talk about her career in mathematics, leadership in education and efforts being made to bolster the future STEM workforce.

Cognitive Transformation and Desistance

Peggy Giordano has studied cognitive transformation and the dynamics of desistance for many years. Her work at Bowling Green State University in Ohio led to a 2021 Stockholm Prize in Criminology. We’ll hear about her study that follows subjects from adolescence into adulthood looking at social influences on the long-term cessation of violence, including the effects of intimate partner and family dynamics, and what behavioral changes are needed for successful cessation to occur.

The Life of Cordyceps

The video game and television adaptation, The Last of Us, has created a lot of interest in the parasitic fungi Ophiocordyceps. We're joined by Charissa De Bekker, assistant professor of biology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, to learn about the different kinds of Cordyceps, her experience studying their parasitic relationship with ants, and the zombie-like behavior that is exhibited as the fungus develops.

The Science of Altruistic Behavior

NSF's Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences supports research focused on human behavior and how behavior can be shaped by social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental forces. Two NSF-supported researchers, Abigail Marsh, a professor in the Department of Psychology and the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience at Georgetown University and Joshua Greene, professor of psychology and a member of the Center for Brain Science at Harvard University, join us to discuss altruism. What is it? Are first responders altruistic? Are other creatures capable of altruism? If it's on the internet, is it performative?

Mysteries of the Quantum Realm

With accurate definitions of a seemingly contradictory nature and complex concepts like entanglement and teleportation, the realm of quantum science can get unusual very quickly. But what is quantum? What can you do with it? Do the movies get it right? We set out to answer some of these questions with quantum physicist Spiros Michalakis, a staff researcher and manager of outreach at the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter at Caltech, a U.S. National Science Foundation Physics Frontiers Center.

Ragnarök and the cave of Surtur

During Iceland's Viking Age, a volcanic eruption formed a lava tube, which became a cave known as Surtshellir. Fast forward more than a millennium and a researcher from Brown University heard stories of tourists visiting a Viking Era site inside the cave and taking away bones they found there. What does the site tell us about Viking culture, Norse Mythology, and folklore? We'll speak with Kevin P. Smith to hear what he found when he descended into the cave of Surtur.

Training the Mind

In elite athletics, competitive advantages can come from the smallest of differences. Track, cycling, baseball, basketball, soccer, football have all been fundamentally impacted by technological developments. Supported in part by NSF, NeuroTrainer has developed a virtual reality program that can impact performance by training the mind. We are joined by founder Jeff Nyquist and CEO Noah Rolland. We further explore scientific technology's revolutionary impact on sport with Rayvon Fouché.

The Hidden Benefits Of Mentorship

Mentorship plays an essential role in encouraging and inspiring the next generation. Often, mentors are parents, family members or teachers, but anyone can be a mentor. We'll speak with Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, the 15th director of the U.S.  National Science Foundation, to learn about his experiences with mentorship and his approach to inspiring others. We will also look at the mentor – mentee relationship between NSF Creative Services Division Branch Chief Cori Bassett and AAAS fellow Dr. Sasha Luks-Morgan.

Could eggs make the best water filter?

NSF-supported researchers at Princeton University have developed an egg protein-derived aerogel whose unique structure is able to remove both salt and microplastics from water. We speak with Sehmus Ozeden to learn more about how this aerogel was developed, how it might be used and what impact it could have on the food supply.