Perpetual Notion Machine

The Perpetual Notion Machine speaks with USDA Forester Karl Welch about his work in the Chequamegon National Forest. We talk about Wisconsin’s evergreen trees, among them pines, spruce, tamarack, and cedars.

This show is part of WORT’s two-day drive to inform our listeners about easy ways to provide financial support to WORT! We talk about both Evergreen donations (get it?) and how qualified listeners can give via IRA distributions if they choose. To find out more about how to donate to WORT, please visit out website at www.wortfm.org and click on the orange donate button.

Other websites for this show:

Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest – Home

Wisconsin’s evergreens–exploration for kids!

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UW-Madison scientists have developed a new technique for identifying and analyzing a single molecule.

The new development, published in the May edition of the journal Nature, is the most sensitive way of identifying single molecules yet. With a variety of applications in a wide variety of scientific fields, it offers a future of “new microscopic perspective of unprecedented detail.”

The technique uses mirrors and fiberoptic cables to illuminate microcavities, or optical microresonators —tiny spaces where light is briefly trapped in both space and time — in order to illuminate a molecule’s presence. Not only can microcavities help identify a molecule, they can also help determine a molecule’s shape and other qualities.

The technique was developed by a team of researchers led by Dr. Randy Goldsmith, a professor of chemistry at UW-Madison. He heads up the Goldsmith Group, which studies chemical and biophysical systems via single-molecule techniques (what the group website describes as a “profound and absolutely delightful way of doing science”).

Goldsmith earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology at Cornell University, his PhD from Northwestern while studying electron transfer, and completed postdoctoral work at Stanford. In 2022, he was named a Schmidt Science Polymath. On this edition of the Perpetual Notion Machine, he joins host Matthew Leeford in the studio to talk more about his work.

Feature image used with permission, courtesy of Dr. Randy Goldsmith. 

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The Perpetual Notion Machine speaks with UW Professor Francisco Pelegri about his research and how it is advancing work within the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Great Lakes Biobank. Pelegri is a professor and genetics researcher who is department chair at the UW-Madison Departments of Genetics and Medical Genetics. His work includes finding ways to preserve the DNA of threatened animal species before they lose biodiversity within their populations, similar to the seed banks currently preserving biodiversity among plants. We discuss the science behind this work, the land ethic that informs it, and the global impact of the technology.

Photo: Francisco Pelegri with dwarf danio fish. Bryce Richter/University of Wisconsin-Madison. Courtesy of On Wisconsin Magazine. 

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Kallie Moore manages the paleontology collection at the University of Montana and co-hosts the YouTube channel PBS Eons.

She also recently published a children’s nonfiction book, Tales of the Prehistoric World: Adventures from the Land of the Dinosaurs (Neon Squid Books, 2022).

In March, she came to Madison as the campus’s spring Science Journalist in Residence, where she shared her expertise in science communication with students in journalism and communication courses, and gave a public lecture on science communication.

WORT’s Perpetual Notion Machine was at that public lecture. And host Allison Jacoby was so impressed that she reached out for an interview shortly after.

You can follow Moore @FossilLibrarian on Twitter and @fossil_librarian on Instagram.

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The Perpetual Notion Machine speaks with geologist Eric Carson about the geological history of Wisconsin’s Driftless Area, where the lack of glacial deposits and glacial landforms indicate that this portion of the midwest has apparently never been covered by glaciers (source: Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey publication). Research is still underway to further understand the geological forces that contributed to the unique landscape.

Map courtesy of Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey

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You may have seen trendy temperature blankets on social media where crocheters around the world record their temperature each day or week using different colors for different temperatures. This results in a colorful array, and a crafty way to visualize trends over time.

Our guest on this episode of Perpetual Notion Machine is Andrew Hahn, a Newsroom Developer at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who crocheted a beautiful bathymetric map of Lake Mendota using worsted weight wool and acrylic.

He and host Lauren Hicks discuss the untraditional ways of data visualization and how journalists are turning to crochet to tell data stories.  They also weave into conversation how data is becoming more intertwined with art and the importance of data visualization.

About the guest:

Andrew Hahn is a Newsroom Developer at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a UW-Madison Alum, and a map fanatic who used crochet to illustrate Wisconsin lakes.

You can find more of Andrew’s work on his Twitter. You can also read his most recent article titled “Actors, athletes, and spies: These 72 people are the most ‘famous’ from each county in Wisconsin.”

Photo by Andrew Hahn. 

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In this edition of the Perpetual Notion Machine, new host Andy Lamia sits down with Andrea Lopez Lang to talk about polar vortexes, and how to get started in an atmospheric sciences career.

Andrea Lopez Lang is Associate Professor in the Department of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences at the University of Albany, where she leads a research group that studies topics like tropopause and jet dynamics, synoptic processes in troposphere-stratosphere coupling, the interaction between weather systems and stratospheric flow, dynamics of cool-season variability, and predictability and uncertainty of high-impact weather at subseasonal lead times

She is currently a Visiting Professor at the UW Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. You can follow her on Twitter @alopezlang.

Cover photo of typical polar vortex configuration in November, 2013. Public domain image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, obtained through Wikimedia. 

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On this edition of the Perpetual Notion Machine, we speak with University of California-Berkeley professor and author David Sedlak about his latest book Water for All: Global Solutions for a Changing Climate, published in 2023 by Yale University Press. In it, he identifies six water crises and sites ways these could be mitigated to meet water needs across the globe–not only for people, but for ecosystems.

David Sedlak is the Plato Malozemoff Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and director of the Berkeley Water Center. He earned his Ph.D. in Water Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1992 and B.S. in Environmental Science from Cornell University in 1986.  He is the author of the award-winning book Water 4.0: The Past, Present, and Future of the World’s Most Vital Resource. David’s Ted Talk, Four ways we can avoid catastrophic drought has over a million views.

This interview originally aired in two parts on February 8 and 15, 2024.

Author photo: Shira Bezalel

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The Perpetual Notion Machine speaks with ecologist Carl Safina about his latest book Alfie & Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe. The book tells the story of Alfie, a near-death baby Eastern Screech Owl that Safina and his wife Patricia rehabilitated. Alfie had a remarkable impact on their lives as she thrived and raised her own family. Carl’s relationship with Alfie led him to ask questions about how humans relate to the natural world “across cultures and throughout history.”

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Robot combat bots engage in thrilling battles that showcase the fusion of engineering prowess and strategic ingenuity. These formidable machines enter the arena with the sole purpose of annihilating opponents.

I talked to Joseph Betz, Founder of Betz Botz and host to the Gears of the Harvest Tournament. He’s spent a lifetime involved with the hobby, and now he’s pushing the sport forward by getting others involved.

Midwest Robot Combat Association 2023 Finals

Image courtesy: StockRocket

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