Curiosity Unbounded MIT

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 (https://mitsloan.mit.edu)* ​​”J-PAL,” the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (https://www.povertyactionlab.org)* MIT Climate Project (https://president.mit.edu/climate-project)Timestamps:(10:07) - Communication skills and productivity(13:14) - Building relationships to benefit climate work(15:29) - MIT’s climate effortsShow notes and transcript:https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-8-hard-facts-soft-skills (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-8-hard-facts-soft-skills)Join the mailing list or send us feedback:https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)

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 (https://design.mit.edu/people/profile/skylar-tibbits)* Self-Assembly Lab (https://selfassemblylab.mit.edu/)* Video: Cube self-folding strand (https://vimeo.com/58840897)* MIT Morningside Academy for Design (https://design.mit.edu/)* Growing Islands (https://selfassemblylab.mit.edu/growingislands)Timestamps:(01:01) 4D printing(06:05) Self-assembly(07:21) Growing Islands(13:00) Design at MITShow notes and transcript:https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-7-staying-radical-and-relevant (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-7-staying-radical-and-relevant)Join the mailing list or send us feedback:https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)

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 (https://meche.mit.edu/people/faculty/etr@mit.edu)* Therapeutic Technology Design and Development Lab (https://ttdd.mit.edu)* Video: Patient-specific, 3D-printed, soft-robotic hearts (https://youtube.com/watch?v=52qNGqBbTQA)* Dassault Systèmes (https://3ds.com/3dexperience)* Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (https://imes.mit.edu)Timestamps:(03:35) - Potential for 3D-printing hearts(08:14) - Hydrogels(17:33) - On AIShow notes and transcript:https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-6-healing-ailing-heart (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-6-healing-ailing-heart)Join the mailing list or send us feedback:https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)

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 (https://drjoshuabennett.com)* Tamara's Opus (https://youtube.com/watch?v=_U5BwD8zOeM)* Reading Poetry: Social Poetics (https://lit.mit.edu/academics/subject-offerings/?semester=spring+2023#21L.004-56361)* African Diaspora Studies program (https://shass.mit.edu/undergraduate/interdisciplinary/majors/african)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 stageShow notes and transcript:https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-5-beyond-words (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-5-beyond-words)Join the mailing list or send us feedback:https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)

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 (https://www.mit.edu/~fadel/)* The Big Bang Theory episode (https://youtube.com/watch?v=-7hJsis-Kpg)* Emerald Innovations (https://emeraldinno.com)* Signal Kinetics group (https://signal-kinetics.media.mit.edu)* Cartesian Systems (https://cartesian.systems)* MIT 100k Entrepreneurship Competition (https://mit100k.org)* Sensea (https://sensea.ai)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 videosShow notes and transcript:https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-4-build-your-own-superpower-then-share-it-world (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-4-build-your-own-superpower-then-share-it-world)Join the mailing list or send us feedback:https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)

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 (https://eapsweb.mit.edu/people/g4nier)* Fournier Lab (https://fournierlab.scripts.mit.edu/web)* Craters of the Moon (https://nps.gov/crmo/index.htm)* Wind Cave (https://nps.gov/wica/index.htm)* Permian–Triassic mass extinction (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permian%E2%80%93Triassic_extinction_event)* Purgatory Chasm (https://mass.gov/locations/purgatory-chasm-state-reservation)* NASA postdoctoral fellowship (https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/nai/directory/fournier-greg/index.html)* Course 1 (http://catalog.mit.edu/subjects/1/)* EAPS (Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences) (https://eapsweb.mit.edu)Show notes and transcript:https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-3-decoding-tree-life (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-3-decoding-tree-life)Join the mailing list or send us feedback:https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)