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
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Episodes
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
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
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!
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Today we talked to Dr Nikoline Borgermann, founder of Ava Sustain. This is a consultancy that is dedicated to help labs around the world to reduce their environmental footprint by reducing single use plastic, energy and water waste.
She will be giving tips on how to take the first step toward a "greener" lab and how to overcome obstacles that may be making the change difficult. I hope you find it useful and enjoy the episode!
Check out Ava Sustain on Instagram and twitter @avasustain
You can also reach out to Dr Nikoline Borgermann on her website via www.avasustain.com
She provided us with a link to more information if you are interested in learning about the statistics for energy waste in the labs specifically for fridges:
https://www.mygreenlab.org/-70-is-the-new--80.html
She wrote a blog that you can find via www.labconscious.com/blog/going-green-in-a-wet-lab-symbolic-vs-high-impact-actions
Also, if you want to stay informed and part of the green lab community follow #greenlab #sustainablescience #labwaste #labwasteday
Thank you for listening!
Saturday Oct 10, 2020
Saturday Oct 10, 2020
Today we discuss some more interesting details about the electrospinning instrument. I hope you, as a student, researcher or even as a person wondering more about this instrument, find it useful! Please email The Polymer Science team at polymersciencepodcast@gmail.com for any questions or comments!
Hope you enjoy!
Monday Sep 21, 2020
Monday Sep 21, 2020
Today we are talking to Dr Lisa Fortuin, a postdoctoral researcher at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology. She did her PhD at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, where she used biodegradable polymers to develop prodrugs for targeted drug delivery. She is currently developing part of the layered system that forms the degradable polymer based bone fracture adhesive, which surgeons will eventually be able to use instead of metal plates and screws for bone fracture treatments!
I hope you enjoy listening to this episode! Please feel free to send comments and questions to polymersciencepodcast@gmail.com
You can also check out more about Dr Lisa Fortuin on social media like Instagram and LinkedIn:
@lisafortuij
Thank you for listening!
Monday Aug 31, 2020
Monday Aug 31, 2020
The electrospinning instrument has grown in popularity over the many years and have been developed in such a way that it can be used for a multitude of applications. Whether it is in the pharmaceutical or biomedical fields or in packaging or food preservation, it is an extremely interesting and useful tool in Polymer Science!
Hope you enjoy the short episode, there will be more to come where we will be discussing electrospinning in depth.
Please send comments and questions to polymersciencepodcast@gmail.com and I will answers related questions in the next part of this educational episode.
Friday Aug 21, 2020
Friday Aug 21, 2020
I'm excited to introduce my new co-host, Jacob Schekman, a fellow scientist with a passion for Polymer Science research!
Today's episode is with Dr Joshua Tropp from the University of Southern Mississippi. This talk brings us an interesting and informative conversation about conjugated polymers and the role that these materials play in the development of sensors and flexible electronics.
You can contact Dr Tropp via LinkedIn at Joshua Tropp, Ph.D or email to joshua.tropp@usm.edu
Hope you enjoy the episode. Remember to subscribe and share the episode!
Thank you for listening!
Monday Jul 27, 2020
Monday Jul 27, 2020
This is the last episode for the Electron Microscope series discussing software and EDX. If there are more questions and comments about this instrument, I will make a seperate questions and answers episode. Stay tuned for more educational episodes about other characterization and analytical instruments still to come!
This podcast is now available on Podbean app as well!
Leave a review and don't forget to subscribe!
Hope you enjoy!
Wednesday Jul 22, 2020
Wednesday Jul 22, 2020
Today we are talking to Dr Pavani Cherukupally, whom I met in Mexico during the Polymer Processing Society conference in 2017. Her energy and passion for research in wastewater treatments and nanocomposite sponges are infectious. Clean and safe drinking water is crucial to our well being and researchers, like Dr Pavani, helps to create more cost effective ways of removing pollutants, such as crude oil and bacteria, from our water.
You can follow Dr Pavani's research by following these links:
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/p.cherukupally17
https://news.engineering.utoronto.ca/three-smart-solutions-institute-water-innovation/
You are welcome to send any comments and questions to me at:
Polymersciencepodcast@gmail.com
Don't forget to subscribe and share the podcast if you enjoyed it!
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!