Started in 2013, the GSA On To the Future program supports student participation in the annual GSA Connects meeting by providing financial support to attend the meeting, waiving registration fees, and providing mentorship and specialized programming with GSA leadership. Ten years after the program was started, I spoke with two On To the Future alum…

Interviews from the Second National Conference for Justice in Geoscience. I talk to the organizers of the conference, Dr. Benjamin Keisling, Dr. Raquel Bryant, and Dr. Rachel Bernard, as well as Geological Society of America President Dr. Mark Little, and geophysicist Dr. Edith Davis.----FULL TRANSCRIPT available at https://bit.ly/3DaTNvf…

Emily Agnello explains the lab procedures used to study CaMKII, a protein in your brain that helps create and store memories. In order of appearance: Laura Fattaruso, Emily Agnello, Laura Patrick, Meg Stratton.Lab Talk with Laura

In this clip from episode 12, Raquel Bryant explains how small fossil shells called foraminifera can be used to understand 90 million year old oceans.Lab Talk with Laura

On this episode I chat on the phone with Anna Minkina, a PhD student in Genomics at University of Washington in Seattle. Anna explains the methods underlying COVID-19 testing and how understanding the method can help us understand the delays to widespread testing in the US. We also chat about her work in genomics-- tracking the lineage of cells. Ch…

Lab Talk with Laura

This episode is all about water! We are joined by Marsha Allen from Geosciences and Mimi Alkattan from Civil and Environmental Engineering. Marsha explains her work studying storage and movement of water in the fractured bedrock of the island of Tobago, in order to plan for sustainable water pumping that considers future impacts from climate change…

Dr. Tricia Serio (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UMass Amherst) and Dr. Suzanne Sindi (Applied Mathematics at UC Merced) explain their collaborative research into prion diseases using lab experiments with yeast colonies and mathematical simulations. They explain how prion diseases form and are transmitted, why they are incurable, and how the…

For this extra special episode I'm joined in the studio by Caroline Ladlow of UMass Geoscience and comedian Lisa Wentworth. We talk about Caroline's work using lake cores to understand storms and tsunamis, and we listen to interviews with scientists at the 2018 American Geophysical Meeting: Patrick O'Brien of the Lunar and Planetary Lab at Universi…

On this episode I'm joined by leadership from the UMass chapter of oSTEM (Out in Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math). Undergrads Sam Marsden (current oSTEM President) and Robin Zollner (co-founder of UMass oSTEM) and PhD student Sanket Sabnis (Graduate Liaison to oSTEM)explain why it's important to have representation of queer identities in scien…

On this episode I'm joined by UMass Amherst Physics grad students Daria Atkinson and Alina Blinova. Daria explains her research in soft materials geometry, and how knitting can help us understand the behavior of soft materials. Alina explains her work using lasers to supercool rubidium atoms in order to explore the quantum behavior of atoms. Comedi…

Today I'm joined by Dr. Laurie Brown and Dr. Chris Condit, retired professors in the Geoscience Dept. at UMass. They tell the story of how they met and fell in love doing field work in the Springerville volcanic field in northern Arizona. Laurie explains her work studying Earth's magnetic field as it's recorded in the rock record (paleomagnetism), …

On this episode I'm joined by Dr. Destenie Nock who recently completed a PhD in Industrial Engineering, and Hannah Johlas, PhD student in Mechanical Engineering. Destenie describes her research exploring the best ways to develop energy infrastructure in the global south, as well as planning for sustainable energy development in New England. Hannah …

On this episode I'm joined by Dr. Heidi Bauer-Clapp, Assistant Director of Grants and Scholarships in the Office of Professional Development at UMass, and organizer of the 3 Minute Thesis competition where graduate students compete to share their research in a compelling 3 minute speech. Grad student finalists Lian Guo (Organismic and Evolutionary …

In this episode we hear interviews from the HackHer413 event, a hackathon for women and non-binary students organized by students at UMass Amherst. I speak to organizers Shreya Sharma and Shreya Sawant, and participants Alina Valdez, Elsie Eigerman, Isabelle Tjokrosetio, Shruti Jain, and Raveena Mewani. We hear about hacks like dialect-detection so…

On this episode, we hear interviews with earthquake scientists of many varieties at the 2018 Southern California Earthquake Center Meeting in Palm Springs, CA. I talk to Alex Hatem, PhD student at University of Southern California, John Ebel, Seismologist at Boston College, Kaj Johnson, a Geophysicist at Indiana University Bloomington, and Julian L…

On this episode, we hear interviews with earthquake scientists of many varieties at the 2018 Southern California Earthquake Center Meeting in Palm Springs, CA. I talk to Emily Brodsky, Seismologist at UC Santa Cruz, Kate Scharer of the US Geological Survey, Ellen Yu of the Southern California Earthquake Data Center, and Ahmed Elbanna, a Civil Engin…

On today's episode, Igor Luzhansky discusses his work at the Langer Lab at MIT working on implantable diabetes treatments made with an extract from seaweed. Edwin Murenzi explains how injecting rat brains into frog eggs has helped him understand the impact of pesticides on mammals. Comedian Gabe Sklan joins as co-host. This episode is chock full of…

This week I'm joined by Dr. Forrest Bowlick and Dr. Will Daniels, both of the Geoscience Dept. at UMass. Forrest Bowlick is a lecturer and graduate program director for the Geographic Information Science master's program. He shares his thoughts on map projections, the scarcity of helium, and his new project to develop online accessible GIS-educatio…

On this episode I'm joined by undergraduate researcher in Chemical Engineering Phoebe Bisnoff as she talks about her work using nanocrystals to improve LED and solar tech, and being the founder and President of the UMass chapter of oSTEM, and UMass Geoscience PhD student Becky Smith discussing her work using plant lipids in the sediment record to r…

My guests today are Dr. Julie Brigham-Grette, Professor and Geoscience Dept. Head, and Adriane Lam, PhD student in the Geoscience Dept. at UMass Amherst. Julie discusses her field work in the Arctic, including drilling in Lake El'gygytgyn in northeast Siberia. She also discusses the need for public policy to address the growing impacts of climate c…

On this episode we chat with recent graduate Emily Agnello and Dr. Meg Stratton of the Stratton Lab in the Biochemistry Dept. at UMass. They study a protein in the brain, CaMKII, that is critical for memory. While scientists know that CaMKII affects memory, they don't yet know exactly how or why... and that's what the Stratton Lab wants to figure o…

My guests today are Julie Davis, recent UMass graduate studying Plant, Soil, and Insect Science, and Joe Drake, PhD student in the Environmental Conservation Dept. Julie discusses her research exploring how soil fungus affects the flowers and nectar of tobacco plants, and the subsequent consequences for bees who feed on those flowers. Joe tells us …

This week I'm joined by Raquel Bryant and Adriane Lam of the UMass Geoscience Dept. to talk about science outreach. Adriane talks about her website Time Scavengers that provides resources for learning about Climate Change and Evolution (www.timescavengers.blog). We listen to a series of interviews I did at the UMass Public Outreach and Engagement S…

I'm joined by Dr. Elroy Aguiar and Dr. Scott Ducharme from the Physical Activity and Health Lab in the Dept. of Kinesiology as they discuss their lab work in the CADENCE study, exploring the relationship between health and walking pace. Listen in to find out the perfect song to set your walking pace. Hartford based comedian Rob Santos joins as co-h…

I'm joined by Dr Kristen DeAngelis of the Microbiology dept at UMass and Dr David Sela of the Food Science dept with comedian Nick Caron co-hosting. Kristen talks about her work studying how climate change affects soil bacteria communities and the breakdown of carbon in a long term study site at Harvard Forest. David discusses his work investigatin…

On this episode we are joined by Raquel Bryant and Benjamin Keisling, PhD candidates in the Geoscience Dept. at UMass Amherst and co-founders of the BRIDGE program to bring early-career scientists to speak at UMass. Raquel explains what single-cell organisms called forams can tell us about the ocean that covered the western North America during the…

How and why do single cell organisms move? What is happening in the brains of sea slugs? Answers to these and many more questions as we are joined by Dr. Paul Katz and Dr. Lillian Frtiz-Laylin of the Biology Dept. at UMass Amherst. Comedian Tricia D'Onofrio joins as co-host.Lab Talk with Laura

Underwear with EKG sensors, clothes that make energy from movement, floating offshore wind turbines: it sounds like the stuff of the future but this tech is actually in use today! We're joined by Dr. Trisha Andrew from the Chemistry Dept. who works on developing wearable technologies, and Dr. Spencer Hallowell of Civil Engineering who studies how o…

On this episode I'm joined by PhD student Marcus Cole and Dr. Todd Emrick from the Emrick Lab in the Polymer Science Dept. at UMass. We talk about many different uses for polymers-- improving solar energy technology, making better TVs, and improving methods of delivery cancer medications. What is the difference between silica, silicon, and silicone…

On this episode, we talk to Dr. Sasha Suvorov of the Environmental Health Science Dept. at UMass about how an important discovery on Easter Island relates to our bodies' long-term response to flame retardants, and we talk to Dr. Matt Moore from the Food Science Dept. about the challenges of fighting norovirus. Comedian Monk Danger cohosts.…

In this episode we talk about innovative materials in architecture, we learn about the driving simulator at UMass, and we find out what material is the next best thing to vibranium. Comedian Kim DeShields co-hosts as we are joined by Dr. Ajla Aksamija from the Architecture Dept. at UMass, and Francis Tainter, PhD student in Human Factors and Transp…

In this episode we talk about an exciting new project to use 3D printing to make STEM classes more accessible to people with low or no vision. We talk about DNA, ticks, brains, braille, and more! Comedian Brian Barganier co-hosts, with guests Dr. Bryan Monesson-Olson who teaches Molecular Biology, Assistive Technology Coordinator Kelsey Hall, and H…

We're joined by Srishti Kashyap of the Microbiology Dept. and George Locascio of the Environmental Conservation Dept. Comedian and CEO of Comedy as a Weapon Tim Lovett joins as co-host. Srishti talks about her research exploring how high temperature microbes interact with their surroundings to produce specific mineral signatures, which helps us loo…

We're joined by Carolyn Gorss of the Environmental Conservation dept. who studies wetland health, and Professor of Biology Dr. Elsbeth Walker who studies how plants regulate iron content, so that food crops might be engineered to provide more nutrients. We discuss salamander crossings and mutated corn, and how scientists studying chicken cancer led…

On the third episode of Lab Talk with Laura, I am joined by Ben Padilla (http://bpadillaecology.weebly.com/) of the Environmental Conservation Dept., and Dr. Emily Redman, assistant Professor of the History of Science at UMass Amherst, with local comedian Carrie Glauner cohosting. We discuss urban ecology, the intersection of science and religion, …

Second episode of Lab Talk with Laura on WMUA Amherst, featuring guests Laura Hancock and Evan Kuras of UMass Amherst, and guest co-host local comic Matt Woodland. We discuss invasive garlic mustard, lesser longnose bats, urban biodiversity, and outdoor education. Check out the Life Science blog that both Laura and Evan contribute to here: http://t…

First episode of Lab Talk with Laura on WMUA Amherst, featuring guests Nigel Golden and Ruthie Halberstadt of the Northeast Climate Science Center, and guest co-host local comic Taylor Ortiz. We talk about arctic ground squirrels, grizzly bears, and how to pee in Antarctica.Lab Talk with Laura