|
I hear what you're saying I follow your arguments But you're wrong; Here's Why |
|  |
|
right click and choose 'save as' to download MP3
At Nerd Nite Sydney outside the noisy Cafe Lounge I spoke with Astrid Zeman about her research into using optical illusions to improve computer vision.
Astrid Zeman's profile at Macquarie University
Astrid's paper 2013 paper: The Müller-Lyer Illusion in a Computational Model of Biological Object Recognition
NBC coverage of Astrid's work
right click and choose 'save as' to download MP3
Angus Devenson is the organiser of RoboWars Sydney 2013. He spoke to me about the sport of building and battling robots, funded by the crowd. RoboWars Sydney 2013 will be on the 3rd and 4th of August, in Redfern.
RoboWars
RoboWars Sydney 2013 crowd-funding
right click and choose 'save as' to download MP3
Dr Sara Lal and PhD student Diarmuid Kavanagh spoke to me about their research into wiring up driver's brains to detect fatigue, and intervening before it causes accidents, at the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Technology, Sydney. This interview was recorded as part of the Science Communication Education Project.
Brain scanning technology is quickly approaching levels of detail that will have serious implications (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
For Brain Awareness week 2013, the Museum of Human Disease held Get Into Your Head to help people experiment with their brains. I visited the Museum and spoke with Thomas Fath, Christine Froud, and Bridget Murphy about the experiments.
Museum of Human Disease
Brain Awareness Week 2013
download MP3
I went to the Red Cross Blood Service in Alexandria, where all the blood donations are sorted and tested before being passed along to hospitals to speak to with Joe Patkes.
Joe Patkes, is Red blood cell serology manager for the Red Cross blood service for NSW. He's had 22 years experience in the blood transfusion business, 7 years with the Australian Red Cross, and before that, 14 years in the United States. He spoke with me about blood types and transfusions. Please excuse the occasional buzzing from the machines in the background.
Red Cross Blood Service Transfusion site
Red Cross Blood Service Donation site
download MP3
download MP3
Mark Changizi,is a theoretical neuro-biologist, and director of human cognition at 2AI Labs. He has a radical theory about the evolution of colour vision. I began by asking him about the difference between animal colour vision and human colour vision.
Clostridium difficile (Photo credit: AJC1)
Professor Thomas Borody of the Center for Digestive Diseases is
researching which illnesses are caused by the bacteria in the bowel
going wrong, and developing bacterial therapies to restore health. In
1999 I spoke to him about how bowel flora affects the brain, and the
triple-S, sick flora syndrome.
Since that time research around the world has started to catch up, and
for one illness at least, clostridium difficile infection, this poo
transplant will become the standard treatment. Other illnesses may
follow.
At the MooresCloud product launch, inventor Mark Pesce spared 10 minutes in the stairwell to talk about his networked lamp platform. MooresCloud, is a playful lamp with a LAMP stack, which means it runs Linux, Apache web server, MySQL database and Python or Perl programming language -L.A.M.P. - it can talk to other networked things.
You can find out more at www.moorescloud.com, and support the project on Kickstarter
This is my first interview using my POV wearable Looxcie camera, and my apologies, but it wobbled a lot. I'm also new to video editing on linux, so I used Openshot until it failed, and then exported video to avidemux to edit the final version. Unfortunately I lost quality in the process. I'll put up a better edited version later. For future videos I'm looking at mounting the camera on my glasses instead of on my ear. It should wobble much less.
Youtube is taking longer to upload so this is hosted on the Internet Archive.
Inventor Mark Pesce has launched MooresCloud, a lamp with a LAMP stack,
which means it runs Linux, Apache web server, MySQL database and Python
or Perl programming language -L.A.M.P. Mark spoke to me in
the stairwell of the Fishburner's building in Sydney at his product launch, about
playful smart devices that talk with you.
My apologies for the squeaking stairwell door on the end of Mark Pesce's
parting words: "You can have the smartest dishwasher in the world, but
if it can't talk with anything, who cares?" You can find out more at www.moorescloud.com, and support the project on Kickstarter
I'll be posting the Point-Of-View Looxcie version of this interview soon.
Professor Gabriella Weaver from Purdue University gave the keynote speech at the Enhancing Learning in Science Through Inquiry and Technology Forum held last week at the University of Technology Sydney. She's designed and run a curriculum that engages first and second year science students in contributing to authentic scientific research. I spoke with her in the tea break.
You can find out more about the Center for Authentic Science Practice in Education CASPiE that allows first and second year science students to engage in ongoing, authentic scientific research at www.caspie.org.
Grabriella Weaver, Professor of Chemical Education and Physical Chemistry
Phillip Rhoades, is one of the directors of the Neural Archives Foundation. He collects brains, and freezes them, in hopes that future historians will be able to read their frozen memories. I spoke to him at the Sydney Futurist meetup.
The universe is expanding at an ever faster rate! Professor Robert Kirshner from the Harvard Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics spoke to me about supernovas and their use in measuring the acceleration in the expansion of the Universe, at the fourth annual Southern Cross Astrophysics conference at the Sydney Maritime Museum.
Energy too cheap to meter! So claims Italian inventer and entrepreneur Andrea Rossi for his invention of the E-Cat Energy Catalyser power generator, which he claims combines hydrogen and nickel with a secret catalyst to make heat and copper.
Ian Bryce is an aerospace engineer, and Chief Investigator for the Australian Skeptics. I spoke with him about his experiences with the Australian investment agent for Rossi's "cold fusion power generator".
This is the full version of the interview broadcast on Diffusion Science Radio
download MP3
Imagine designing molecules on paper and then making them in the lab. Dr Andrew McDonagh of the School of Chemistry and Forensic Sciences and the Institute of Nanoscale Technologies at the University of Technology, Sydney. He's been working on dye sensitised solar cells. I asked him what he's been synthesizing.
As the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP17
finished this weekend, climate change is on everyone's mind.
Professor Ann Henderson-Sellers from Macquarie University wants you to show her what to do about it.
I asked her to explain about the Climate Fix Flicks.
More information on the competition to create a short video to show how we can all fix the climate
download MP3
Galit Segev is a chef and biochemist, combining her love of food and science, in public talks on the science of food. Galit is a volunteer for Vision Australia creating recipes and cooking classes for people with vision impairment. At the Ultimo Science Festival she spoke to me about her love of food, her love of chocolate, and the science of making chocolate.
Meadows under the sea feed the world and clean the air. Marine Ecologist Dr Peter Macreadie is a Chancellor's post-doctoral research fellow in the School of the Environment in the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Dr Macreadie has been nominated for the 2011 Eureka Prize awarded each year by the Australian Museum, for his research into seagrass. Ian Woolf asked him to explain the role of seagrasses in marine ecology, and their role in preventing global warming.
You can vote for Dr Macreadie in the Eureka prizes here: http://eureka.australianmuseum.net.au/vote
PhD student Phobe Peters at the Institute for the Biotechnology of Infectious Diseases explores the role of proteins in the surprisingly complex mechanism of bacterial cell division.
Les Kirkup is researching ways of making laboratory learning a better experience - using science. Associate Professor Les Kirkup from the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology, Sydney spoke to Ian Woolf about his being awarded the National Teaching Fellowship from the Australian Teaching and Learning Council. I began by asking him to explain what the National Teaching Fellowship is about.
Inquiry-oriented learning in science: transforming practice through forging new partnerships and perspectives
When leaves get hot Botanist Dr Andy Leigh gets interested. She spoke to Shannon Jones why she researches how leaves deal with heat as part of the Science Communications Education Project at UTS Science Faculty.
On April 12th 2011 a rally to protest against proposed medical research budget cuts by the Australian government was held around the country. I attended the Sydney protest in Belmore Park and interviewed:
Bettina Arndt, Bill Ferris, Judy Black, and Andrea MacFarland.
Balint Seeber is an inventor, innovator and maker. He's been mashing up radio frequency information with google maps. He spoke to Ian Woolf about his mash-ups. Check them out at http://spench.net
Kate Grimwood is a PhD student researching the chemical forensics of fire in the Science faculty at the University of Technology, Sydney. She spoke to me about her research into flash-over, the source and nature of toxic fumes, and burning down houses for science.
MP3 download
I interviewed Marianne Menictas about her Tsunami warning research. Marianne Menictas has been creating a mathematical model that shows how to save the lives of the most people possible from a Tsunami disaster for the least amount of money. Marianne is a final year student in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Technology, Sydney
Mathematical models can save lives! Marianne Menictas has just finished her degree in Mathematics and Statistics. She's 20 years old and is looking forward to doing new research in her honours year at the University of Technology, Sydney.
download MP4
del.icio.us bookmarks
Wish list
Recent Comments