Rocks for Jocks

In this episode, I interview Adel Asadi, PhD, who talks about his journey from Iran to Stanford University. Adel shares details from his academic career, including his achievements in mining, machine learning, and geohazards. He also offers a glimpse into his ongoing postdoctoral work and entrepreneurship at Stanford.

00:00 Introduction and Education 

04:28 PhD Research: mining, remote sensing, geohazards

26:26 Postdoc vs. Industry

41:58 Plans and Advice

In this episode of 'Rocks for Jocks', I recap and discuss the first part of Stephen Hawking's book 'The Theory of Everything'. The book, despite its brevity and easy-to-understand language, has a lot information to go over. In this episode, I get through lectures 1 and 2 out of 7.

00:00 Overview & key takeaways of 'The Theory of Everything'

02:38 Lecture 1

06:45 Lecture 2

Today I explore the main impacts of climate change, a topic often covered in introductory earth science courses. I also talk about the basics of greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane, explaining how they trap heat and alter global weather patterns.

00:00 Defining Climate and Change

01:53 Major Impacts 

06:04 Major Causes

10:46 Greenhouse Gases

13:02 Final Thoughts

Sources:

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide

https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/?intent=121

https://web.archive.org/web/20181126204443/http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter1.pdf

⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas_emissions⁠

⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth⁠

In this episode, I continue my conversation with Christina, a PhD candidate at Tufts University. We talk further about Christina’s dissertation, the challenges she faced, and advice for rising engineers.

00:00 Christina's Dissertation

04:13 Fragility Functions & Empirical Data

08:48 Project Hurdles

16:14 Future Plans & Advice

23:56 Final Thoughts

In this episode I interviewed Christina Sanon, a Civil & Environmental Engineering PhD candidate at Tufts University. Christina discusses her academic journey, how concrete is used in structural engineering, and her research with earthquake damage data. We talk some specifics about Christina’s methodologies, including remote sensing, the preservation of time-sensitive data, and using machine learning for liquefaction assessment.

01:01 Christina's Academic Journey

07:10 Undergraduate and Master’s

16:15 PhD Coursework and Research

24:09 Liquefaction and Perishable Data

33:57 Manual Data Collection

This episode reviews the recent 4.8 magnitude New Jersey earthquake, its causes, and its implications. I also discuss a few other topics, including tectonic plates and fault lines, the rarity of significant earthquakes on the US East Coast, and different earthquake measurement scales.

00:00 Introduction

01:29 Tectonic Plates and Fault Lines

02:30 Intra Plate Events

03:26 Frequency and Magnitude Relationship

07:11 Earthquake Measurement Scales

10:46 Quakes and CC

In this episode, we discuss Marshall's graduate school projects in seismic site response and geotechnical engineering. In his projects, Marshall studied Mexico City's seismic response after the 2017 earthquake, then extend the application of his findings from Mexico City to New England.

We also discuss F-naught, Vs 30, the publication process, and the practical applications of Marshall’s findings.

35:01 Data and Visualization

In this episode, we discuss Marshall's life ranging from his academic journey to work with trail crews in the White Mountains. We talk about Marshall’s scientific accomplishments and his eventual career path in geotechnical engineering. Lastly, we discuss Marshall’s graduate school experiences, focusing on statistics, mentorship, and practical applications in the professional world.

00:00 Recording During COVID

01:08 High School to Geophysics

20:49 Unveiling the Fault

25:28 Grad School: MATLAB to Geotechnical Engineering

This episode takes us on a journey through the history of early astronomy, from ancient astronomers observing the night sky to celestial sphere models. Using chapter 1 of "Coming of Age in the Milky Way" by Timothy Ferris, I discuss the evolution of scientific models, including the details and fabrications of Ptolemy. I consider the changing nature of theories and the endless possibilities for future discoveries. 

00:00 Introduction

00:19 Discovering an Old Gem

01:54 Early Astronomy: Celestial Spheres to Ptolemy's Models

05:17 Ptolemy's Legacy: Fabrication and Insight

08:40 Evolution of Scientific Models and Theories