Curiosity Unbounded – Details, episodes & analysis

Namrata Kala is an associate professor in applied economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She studies the value of employee training and incentives, how communities adapt to environmental change and regulation, and the returns on environmental technology investment. Here, Namrata speaks with MIT President Sally Kornbluth about the importance of soft skills training, and the benefits of being a straight shooter.

Links: 

• MIT Sloan School of Management
• ​​”J-PAL,” the Jameel Poverty Action Lab
• MIT Climate Project

Timestamps:

• (10:07) - Communication skills and productivity
• (13:14) - Building relationships to benefit climate work
• (15:29) - MIT’s climate efforts

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-8-hard-facts-soft-skills

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Skylar Tibbits is a designer and computer scientist whose research focuses on self-assembling and programmable materials, and 3D and 4D printing. He is the founder of the MIT Self-Assembly Lab. Here, Skylar speaks with MIT President Sally Kornbluth about the inspiration for his lab’s projects, why design at MIT is unique, and the magic in combining the creative with the technical.

Links:

• Skylar Tibbits
• Self-Assembly Lab
• Video: Cube self-folding strand
• MIT Morningside Academy for Design
• Growing Islands

Timestamps:

(01:01) 4D printing

(06:05) Self-assembly

(07:21) Growing Islands

(13:00) Design at MIT

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-7-staying-radical-and-relevant

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Ellen Roche is an associate professor of mechanical engineering and the associate head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. Her research team develops new devices and therapeutic strategies for repairing the heart and other tissues. Here, she speaks with MIT President Sally Kornbluth about her work, the advantages of taking a nonlinear route to one’s chosen career, and the importance of saying "yes" to unexpected opportunities.

Links:

• Ellen Roche
• Therapeutic Technology Design and Development Lab
• Video: Patient-specific, 3D-printed, soft-robotic hearts
• Dassault Systèmes
• Institute for Medical Engineering and Science

Timestamps:

(03:35) - Potential for 3D-printing hearts

(08:14) - Hydrogels

(17:33) - On AI

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-6-healing-ailing-heart

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Joshua Bennett is a professor of literature and distinguished chair of the humanities at MIT. Additionally, he is an accomplished spoken word artist, and author of several books. Here, he speaks with MIT President Sally Kornbluth about the power of words, the beauty of quiet things, and about the value in learning for its own sake. Plus, we hear him perform his poetry.

Links:

• drjoshuabennett.com
• Tamara's Opus
• Reading Poetry: Social Poetics
• African Diaspora Studies program

Timestamps:

(08:38) - On AI

(13:40) - The benefits and joy of learning for its own sake

(20:01) - The distinction between poetry on the page and on the stage

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-5-beyond-words

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Fadel Adib is an associate professor at the MIT Media Lab and Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. His work pushes the limits of wireless sensing: to monitor climate change in the oceans; to impact food production, health, and space exploration; and to see through walls.

In this episode, MIT President Sally Kornbluth talks with Adib about his work and how he’s inspired to solve pressing global issues. Along the way, they discuss his belief in the importance of inspiring others and democratizing advanced tools and technologies, as well as his early life in Lebanon and his family-held belief that education has the power to change lives.

Links:

• Fadel Adib
• The Big Bang Theory episode
• Emerald Innovations
• Signal Kinetics group
• Cartesian Systems
• MIT 100k Entrepreneurship Competition
• Sensea

Timestamps:

(01:38) - The superpower question

(07:48) - Detecting emotions through walls and The Big Bang Theory episode

(09:00) - Ocean work and implications for aquaculture, climate change, and space exploration

(17:50) - Early life in Lebanon

(21:10) - Democratization of technology

(25:52) - Family and the importance of education

(28:26) - Local impact

(29:24) - Public education through videos

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-4-build-your-own-superpower-then-share-it-world

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Greg Fournier is an associate professor of geobiology at MIT. Greg’s work focuses on the microbial world, and by studying the evolution of microbes, he and his team further our understanding of the history of life on Earth.

In this episode, MIT President Sally Kornbluth and Fournier discuss fine-tuning our understanding of evolution; lab life and how research surprises often lead to new discoveries; and advice for those just beginning a career in science.

Links:

• Greg Fournier
• Fournier Lab
• Craters of the Moon
• Wind Cave
• Permian–Triassic mass extinction
• Purgatory Chasm
• NASA postdoctoral fellowship
• Course 1
• EAPS (Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences)

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-3-decoding-tree-life

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In this episode, MIT President Sally Kornbluth sits down with associate professor of political science and faculty co-director of MIT-Africa, Mai Hassan. Her work looks at bureaucracy, public administration, and the state in Africa, and more recently, how people mobilize against repressive dictatorships.

Links:

• Mai Hassan
• MIT-Africa
• Regime Threats and State Solutions

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-2-bureaucracies-dictatorships-and-power-africas-people

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In this episode, MIT President Sally Kornbluth sits down with newly tenured associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, Desirée Plata. Her work focuses on making industrial processes more environmentally friendly, and removing methane (a key factor in global warming) from the air.

Links:

• Desirée Plata
• Woods Hole Oceanographic
• Plata Lab
• Global Methane Pledge
• 2.00b Toy Product Design

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-1-how-free-range-kid-maine-helping-green-industrial

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Benedetto Marelli is a biomedical engineer by training and a materials scientist. He is an associate professor in MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His work is focused on the fabrication of new biopolymers that can interact with biomolecules, living matter, and the environment. Here, Benedetto speaks with MIT President Sally Kornbluth about the advantages of using silk-based coatings in agriculture as well as for water filtration, and why being bold and creative can lead to powerful discoveries.

Links:

• Laboratory for Advanced Biopolymers
• Civil and Environmental Engineering
• MIT Climate Project

Timestamps:

• (01:23) - The benefits of silk use for agriculture
• (06:00) - MIT’s Climate Grand Challenges
• (07:12) - Using silk to filter out forever chemicals
• (09:31) - MIT’s Climate Project

Show notes and transcript:

https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-8-hard-facts-soft-skills

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Giovanni "Gio" Traverso is an associate professor in MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering and a gastroenterologist at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. His work focuses on innovative methods for drug delivery, diagnostics, and biological sensing. Here, Gio speaks with MIT President Sally Kornbluth about tackling the core challenges of taking medication, the unique perspective that comes with being both a professor and a practicing gastroenterologist, and the importance of entrepreneurship.

Links:

• The Laboratory for Translational Engineering
• MIT School of Engineering
• MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering

Timestamps:

• (04:48) - Electroceuticals
• (06:08) - The gut-brain connection's affect on appetite
• (08:29) - The challenges of adherence to medication schedules
• (15:45) - Entrepreneurship

Show notes and transcript: https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-10-making-medicine-easier-swallow

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