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? And more fundamentally, what is a polymer? Comedian Giancarlo Biondino joins as cohost.