Engineering Out Loud

Nordica MacCarty, a faculty member in the Humanitarian Engineering Program at Oregon State, talks about improving the lives of women and children in the developing world through cleaner-burning cook stove technology. We also follow the unlikely journey taken by assistant professor Chinweike Eseonu, three women from the tiny town of Monroe, Oregon, Spanish instructor Loren Chavarria, and three determined engineering students, all made possible by some tasty Mexican food.

In part one, we'll uncover the extreme challenges of air travel for people with disabilities, the risky measures they take in order to fly, and the serious harm they face every time they board an aircraft. And we'll meet Associate Professor Katharine Hunter-Zaworski who, for more than three decades, has been is fighting to remove barriers and improve access to transportation for people with disabilities.

By observing crashes, researchers can make recommendations on how to prevent them and ultimately make roads safer for more users. Crashes, however, are difficult to predict and to observe. In part two, we tour the Driving and Bicycling Simulator where Associate Professor David Hurwitz conducts experiments on right-hook crashes in a virtual environment.

• Skytrain
• Accessible Lavatories Working Group
• Oregon State's Driving and Bicycling Simulator Facilities

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-2-engineering-inclusivity/air-and-land-s2e2

Inclusivity means listening to all voices — creating a beautiful polyphonic sound. Learn about Distinguished Professor Margaret Burnett's mission to change the way software is designed to be more gender inclusive. Also, meet her former student Kyle Rector, now at University of Iowa, who designed software to help people with vision impairments learn yoga.

In part one, we meet computer science Assistant Professor Stephen Ramsey, who uses computational modeling to look deep into the human genome. His goal: predict who among us is more susceptible to heart disease. The information could determine not only who will benefit most from preventive action, but may even lead to new drugs for treating cardiovascular disease.

We then shift from humans to the world of plants and animals with Ph.D. student Caitlin Condon and Ph.D. candidate Delvan Neville from the Radioecology Research Group in the School of Nuclear Science and Engineering. They are both creating voxel phantom models: Caitlin for pine trees, and Delvan for marine life. By creating these 3-D models, they hope to begin to much more accurately understand radiation dose rates in biota.

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-1-data-science-and-engineering/hearts-and-phantoms-s1e6

The Monte Carlo method conjures images of a suave gambler beating the house in Monaco. In reality, Monte Carlo methods are computational algorithms that use randomness to solve problems.

In this episode we hear from Todd Palmer, professor of nuclear engineering, about his use of Monte Carlo simulations in nuclear power. In addition, find out how Haizhong Wang, assistant professor in transportation engineering, is incorporating Monte Carlo to model tsunami evacuation routes in the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

• Oregon and Washington Tsunami Inundation Zones and Evacuation Routes
• California Tsunami Indundation Zones and Evacuation Routes
• Tsunami Warning System
• How To Prepare For The Cascadia Megaquake

Available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and YouTube.

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-1-data-science-and-engineering/odds-and-ends-s1e5

In this episode, we find out how researchers are utilizing unmanned autonomous vehicles (UAVs) to gather data.

Dr. Dan Gillins, affiliated faculty member, along with his brother Matt Gillins, a graduate student at Oregon State, is conducting research on the feasibility of using UAVs to conduct bridge inspections. Gillins' research seeks to determine if UAVs can help defray some of the cost and eliminate some of the risk involved with traditional bridge inspections.

COE postdoctoral researcher Dr. Eric Becker developed a UAV-mounted Radiation Compass that maps radiation sources autonomously in real time. The Radiation Compass weighs only 650 grams and can be built for $3,000 giving it a major advantage over current detectors.

The age of Big Data and cloud computing has created greater demand for advanced cryptography. To store data on the cloud safely it must be encrypted; in order to use the data it needs to be decrypted, at which point it becomes vulnerable to attacks. Professors Mike Rosulek and Attila Yavuz are finding new ways to perform operations on encrypted data without leaking critical information.

Professor Glencora Borradaille teaches workshops and a new class on personal computer security to empower people to protect their own data. With community organizer Michele Charrete, she explains why people should be concerned about security and how to use tools encrypting email and anonymous web browsing.

• Set up public key encryption for browsing email
• Tor Browser

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-1-data-science-and-engineering/lock-and-key-s1e3

Xiaoli Fern, associate professor in computer science, explains how she and her team are using machine learning and bird song recordings to help biologists track bird populations. Plus, Geoff Hollinger, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is teaching underwater robots to use human preferences to take on risk as they complete their scientific missions.

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-1-data-science-and-engineering/sea-and-sky-s1e2

What is data science and engineering? To kick off the podcast season on this topic, Tom Dietterich, distinguished professor of computer science, explains what it is, how it is related to Big Data, and shares his thoughts on the pros and cons.

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-1-data-science-and-engineering/pros-and-cons-s1e1

The teaser for Engineering Out Loud--a brand new podcast from the College of Engineering at Oregon State University. We're telling the stories of how our research and innovation is helping change the world.