Polymer Science Podcast
Two scientists from opposite ends of the Earth speak with researchers around the world to break down their fascinating work in polymer science, chemistry, material science, and engineering. Join Dr. Alicia Botes and Jacob Schekman as they break down exciting discoveries on the Polymer Science Podcast! Questions or comments? Contact us at polymersciencepodcast@gmail.com
Episodes
Sunday Aug 15, 2021
Episode 15: Talking to Prof James Pikul about Metallic Wood
Sunday Aug 15, 2021
Sunday Aug 15, 2021
It is a week after the Closing Ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games, and it is amazing to be able to reflect on the revolutionary technology that we currently have available due to the dedicated mechanical engineers and scientists that are focusing their efforts on providing sustainable and convenient tools to improve society. In Japan, we saw the effective use of bullet trains for quick transport between stadiums, multilingual robotic guides and security guards. The Olympic medals were made of recycled laptops and other electronic devices while self-steering cars have been giving the competitors lifts to their destinations. Viewers even got to see the amazing performances of our athletes from every angle with advanced 3D video capturing technology.
It is therefor only fitting that we are talking to Mechanical Engineering Professor, James Pikul, in this episode about designing metallic wood and the interesting roles that polymers play in improving technology and studies in the Mechanical Engineering field.
James Pikul is an Assistant Professor and a Moore Inventor Fellow in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics from the University of Pennsylvania. He is the lead of the Pikul Research Group and seeks to make transformative advances in energy storage, energy conversion, multifunctional materials, and robotics by understanding and exploiting nanoscale to macroscopic characteristics of electrochemistry and soft matter. He graduated at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he worked on fabricating high power microbatteries and high strength cellular metals. He received a 2020 Moore Inventor Fellowship as well as a 2020 Toyota Programmable System Innovation Fellowship and several awards for his research.
You can find out more about him by following this link:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-pikul-25905a13/
Hope you enjoy!
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
Episode 14: Talking to Maliha Syed about Polymers in Cosmetics
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
Dr Maliha Syed studied at the University of Southern Mississippi and graduated with her PhD in Polymer Science and Engineering. She is a Principle Scientist for the company called Avlon which focuses on synergizing health, beauty, and polymer science to provide skincare solutions that enhance consumer wellness. Maliha talks to us about hair, nail and skin care and the development strategies behind each product. She helps us understand how polymers are essential in the production of these cosmetics and how the design is optimized for each product application.
You can find out more about her and Avlon here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmalihasyed/
and
https://avlon.com/
Please let us know what you think of this podcast and feel free to send a comment or any suggestions to the Polymer Science Podcast email address:
polymersciencepodcast@gmail.com
Thank you for listening!
Sunday Jun 27, 2021
Episode 13: Talking to Prof. James Rawlins about Polymer Coatings
Sunday Jun 27, 2021
Sunday Jun 27, 2021
Today's episode features Prof. James Rawlins from the University of Southern Mississippi where he focusses his research on structure properties and structure performance relationships of polymer coatings and early detection of corrosion.
Coatings are predominant in our every day life and is used in corrosion control, as decorative covering or even for modifying surfaces to make it more hydrophobic (fabric protectors) or give it antimicrobial properties.
Prof. Rawlins talks candidly about life as a scientist and gives insight and advice on how to approach research projects. He also delves further into fundamentals of coatings so that young researchers that are interested in a career or further research in Polymer coatings can know what to expect.
You can find out more about Prof. James Rawlins by following this link:
https://waterbornesymposium.sched.com/artist/jamesrawlins
Thank you for listening and your continuous support!
Thursday May 20, 2021
Thursday May 20, 2021
Thomas Mortelmans is a PhD student with a passion for Polymers. He talks about how he combines various scientific fields and state-of-the-art nanofabrication techniques for bio-medically relevant applications. He is working on the development of a nanofluidic device, which would be capable of interpreting pathophysiological mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases. The project is a collaboration between the Laboratory of Micro-and Nanotechnology (LMN) at the Paul Scherrer Institute and the Center for Cellular Imaging and NanoAnalytics (C-CINA) at the University of Basel.
You can find him on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-mortelmans-066a9a83/He also created his own Gin, inspired by his scientific. It is available in Belgium and is known as ‘Cloudy Gins', All IncMist. You can have a look by following this link:
https://www.the-spiritists.be/english2/all-inc-mist-gin-40-500ml.html
Also linked as promised, the Two Photon Polymerizations 3D printing images of the Eiffel Tower and more:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287124439_Art_on_the_Nanoscale_and_Beyond/figures?lo=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic
Thank you for listening!
Wednesday Apr 21, 2021
Episode 11: Talking to Dr. Danielle Pretorius about Fabricating cardiac tissue patches
Wednesday Apr 21, 2021
Wednesday Apr 21, 2021
Dr. Danielle Pretorius has earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Together with Dr. Jay Zhang, she is helping to fabricate cardiac tissue patches that is made from human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cells. The initial structures were made with fibrin but due to the dynamic nature of the cells, the extracellular matrix of these cells could be remodeled. Danielle and her group's fabrications process has allowed them to achieve previously unseen tissue thickness with minimal necrosis, the ability to match viscoelasticity properties to those seen in native left ventricular tissue as well as phenomenal conduction velocities throughout the structures.
You can find out more about Dr. Pretorius and her work in this link:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dani%C3%ABlle-pretorius-b93280b5/
Thank you for listening!
Please feel free to contact us at the email below:
polymersciencepodcast@gmail.com
Sunday Mar 14, 2021
Sunday Mar 14, 2021
In this Episode we speak to Prof Stachewicz from the AGH University of Science and Technology about two topics that revolve around Bioengineered Electrospun fibers. We first talk about a Water Harvesting system using Polystyrene-Cellulose electrospun fibers. She describes the specific electrospinning process required for the development of "gutter" shaped fibers for these water collection devices in poor or under-developed communities. In the second topic we learn more about Eczema and how the treatment for this disease is being investigated and modified. Prof Ula and her group have developed electrospun patches that can behave as an oil carrier to sooth the irritated skin.
You can have a look at all the work that has been discussed here:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Urszula-Stachewicz
https://www.linkedin.com/in/urszula-stachewicz-387b5a1/?originalSubdomain=uk
Thank you for listening!
Saturday Feb 20, 2021
Saturday Feb 20, 2021
This episode is filled with information about the engineering and characterization of Exosome-Polymer hybrids. Dr. Upenyu Muza explains to us what exosomes are and how they can be modified and improved for the use in targeted drug delivery and for other medicinal applications by using polymers. He also gives us a detailed description of a very important separation technique called Field Flow Fractionation and how they adjust it to the requirements of their study of Exosome-Polymer hybrids.
I hope you enjoy our talk as much as I did. Please share and give a review if you enjoyed this episode and feel free to leave us a comment.
You can check out the work that was done by Dr. Muza and his team:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Upenyu-Muza
https://www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-events/2021/0104_exosome-polymer-hybrids.html
We would love to hear from you:
polymersciencepodcast@gmail.com
Wednesday Jan 13, 2021
Episode 8: Talking to Prof. Dr. Michael Meier about a Greener Future in Chemistry
Wednesday Jan 13, 2021
Wednesday Jan 13, 2021
And we are back, kicking off the new year with a topic close to our hearts! Today my Co-host Jacob Schekman spoke to Prof. Michael Meier from the Laboratory of Applied Chemistry at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany.
The topic of sustainable chemistry in the lab is a very interesting and necessary topic. Prof Meier discusses the importance of making scientific experiments more environmentally friendly and being conscientious about decisions made in the lab especially about selecting projects and conducting experiments.
Let us know what you think of this episode and if you enjoyed the new format! We would love to hear from you at polymersciencepodcast@gmail.com
Enjoy!
Monday Dec 21, 2020
2020 Wrap Up: Get to know us
Monday Dec 21, 2020
Monday Dec 21, 2020
This year went by with a flash. Wow. It really tested our ability to work together as a society as well as forced us to re-evaluate what is essential and important to our health and well being.
This is a special episode to wrap up this year and to give thanks to everyone who have supported The Polymer Science Podcast so far. We cannot thank you enough!
One thing is certain, the year 2020 have shown us all how important Polymer Science is to our quality of life. In this episode we included some brief news and highlights about Polymer research that is aiding the fight against the pandemic and other interesting aspects of polymers in our daily lives.
We then celebrated the end of this podcast's first season with a fun Q&A so that you can get to know us better. We hope you have a fun time listening to our quirky answers!
You can go ahead and check out an interesting fact that we mentioned in the Q&A section about my co-host, Jacob Schekman, below:
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2013/prize-announcement/
Other links to check out:
https://www.electrive.com/2020/01/16/eindhoven-introduces-the-recycled-car-luca/
And
https://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com/news/132322/highly-potent-nanoparticle-covid-19-vaccine-designed-using-computer/
Remember to send questions and comments to polymersciencepodcast@gmail.com
We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and we hope you enjoy the rest of the festive season with your loved ones!
Stay safe and we will see you again in January!
All the best,
Alicia and Jacob
Saturday Nov 28, 2020
Episode 7: Talking to Haydn Kriel about Nordshield in the fight against pathogens
Saturday Nov 28, 2020
Saturday Nov 28, 2020
This episode contains a fascinating talk with Haydn Kriel, who obtained a MSc in Polymer Science at Stellenbosch University, South Africa and he now resides in Finland and works with the Nordic Biotech Group. We talked about the life of a Polymer Scientist and how to make the best decisions for your career. We also discussed their innovative and sustainable natural disinfectant called Nordshield.
Nordshield is an ISO certified and award winning, multi-purpose product that forms a protective barrier against viruses, fungi and bacteria on treated surfaces like textiles and medical devices to name a few.
You are welcome to visit the Nordshield website:
https://www.nordshield.com/
And follow their amazing contribution to biofriendly and environmentally conscious research on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nordshield
Remember to share this episode as well as send questions and comments to polymersciencepodcast@gmail.com
We would love to hear from you and what you want to hear about next!
POLYMER SCIENCE PODCAST
Here to break down the science so you don't have to are your hosts, Dr. Alicia Botes and Jacob Schekman. Alicia received her PhD in Chemistry and Polymer Science at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and is currently working as an electron microscope analyst at the Central Analytical Facility. Jacob is a PhD candidate in Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Southern Mississippi, United States.
Do you enjoy learning about science? Then this podcast is just for you! Polymers are a unique category of molecules, special for their large size and seemingly endless potential for application in our world. In fact, polymers already have HUGE impacts on our lives... Can you guess which of your household items are made from polymers? Shoes? Made from polymers. Paper? That's a polymer. Spaghetti? Yeah, that too. Literally ALL types of paint? You got it, all polymers!
Of course, polymer research is pertinent to far more than just household products. On this show you'll hear from scientists whose research contributes to improved recycling, aerospace materials, soft robotics, medical equipment, biocompatible plastics, biodegradable plastics, textiles, packaging, and so much more!
We hope you enjoy listening and learning with us!