Science (Audio)

Ram Huggahalli is a Principal Hardware Engineer in Microsoft's Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure group. His focus areas are hyper-scalar systems architecture, SoC/platform-level interconnects and accelerator architecture strategies for the next 2-4 years. Prior to Microsoft, Ram has been with Intel Corporation contributing to memory and I/O subsystem directions in various Xeon processors and platforms, large scale HPC interconnect product roadmaps and system level simulation methodologies. Ram has MS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Engineering Management from Missouri University of Science and Technology. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 38464]

Rob Stone is a member of the infrastructure team at Meta, focusing on next generation optics and networking. Prior to Facebook, Rob was a distinguished engineer at Broadcom within the switch architecture team. He is active in industry communities including IEEE and other MSAs. Rob holds a D.Phil. in Physics from The University of Oxford. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 38463]

The human brain has a larger mass with respect to body weight, increased cortical neurons with respect to size, an expanded proliferative zone, and unique connectivity patterns. Human-specific neurodevelopment is not only marked by physical differences, but also by temporal changes. Human neurons, during both prenatal neurodevelopment and adult neurogenesis, exhibit an exceptionally delayed time course, a characteristic termed neoteny. Signatures of human-specific neoteny have been observed and reproduced across different systems including induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) and brain organoids models. We compared neurogenesis across stem cells from five primate species - rhesus, gorilla, bonobo, chimpanzee, human - and assessed the differences in transcriptional dynamics. We identified a pioneer transcription factor, GATA3, that exhibited elevated neuronal expression only in humans. This finding provides evidence for the divergence of gene regulation as a contributor to human neoteny. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Education] [Show ID: 38301]

When not teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, CJ Taylor is part of the Robotics team working on The Institute for Learning-Enabled Optimization at Scale (TILOS) at UC San Diego's Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute. He talks with Saura Naderi about his upbringing, his early interest in data science and his current position. He also talks about his involvement in projects that benefit the community. Series: "Science Like Me" [Science] [Show ID: 38501]

The American Physical Society has designated UC San Diego’s Mayer Hall as a historic site in recognition of research conducted by physicists Walter Kohn and Lu Jeu Sham on density functional theory. Their development of the "Kohn-Sham equation" inside Mayer Hall became the foundation for the computation of the material properties of electrons and nuclei. Understanding the electronic properties of complex systems is essential to the design and engineering of new materials and drugs. Kohn and Pierre Hohenberg on sabbatical in Paris developed a theorem for the electron ground state energy to depend on the electron density distribution instead of the usual potential energy due to the nuclei. In Building C (later named Mayer Hall), from 1964-66, Kohn and Sham laid the foundation of a computation method, based on a single-particle equation composed of its quantum kinetic energy and the potential energy including the interaction effects. [Science] [Show ID: 38313]

What is gene therapy and how does it relate to autism? Alysson Muotri, Ph.D., contextualizes the autism spectrum, defines gene therapy, shares how human stem cells can contribute to research, and lays out how gene therapy could be used in the future. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 38387]

John E. Bowers holds the UC Santa Barbara Fred Kavli Chair in Nanotechnology and is the Director of the Institute for Energy Efficiency and a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr. Bowers received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University and worked for AT&T Bell Laboratories and Honeywell before joining UC Santa Barbara. Dr. Bowers is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Inventors, a fellow of the IEEE, OSA and the American Physical Society. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 38470]

Chris Cole is advising several companies including II-VI Inc. and Quintessent Inc., on advanced optical interfaces. Before, he was VP of Advanced Development, Finisar Corp. where he led the definition and development of 10 through 400 Gb/s optical interfaces for datacom and telecom applications. He delivered multiple generations of optical transceivers leading to ~$1billion of Finisar revenue. The 40G, 100G, 200G and 400G interfaces he defined and proposed for IEEE standardization constitute the majority of optical datacom links in datacenters, and account for billions of optics industry revenue. Prior, at Hughes Aircraft Company (now Boeing Space), and MIT Lincoln Laboratory he contributed to multiple communication and imaging satellites. Then, for TI DSP Group and Silicon Systems Inc. (now Analog Devices), he developed voiceband datacom algorithms and ASICs, respectively. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 38467]

Thomas C. Südhof, M.D., Stanford University, discusses facets of the fundamental cell biology of ApoE and APP analyzed in stem cell-derived human neurons. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 38405]

Environmental scientist Jesse Ausubel, awarded the 2022 Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest, discusses whether the human species can continue to improve—much like cars, computers, or other technology—or whether our species has reached its peak.

In a career spanning more than four decades, Ausubel has conceived, developed, and led numerous projects to observe and better understand the environment. This includes high-profile work on several major programs to survey and catalog the planet’s biodiversity, including the Census of Marine Life, the International Barcode of Life initiative and the Encyclopedia of Life.

The Nierenberg Prize is presented annually by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and the Nierenberg Family to honor the memory of William A. Nierenberg, an esteemed physicist and national science leader who served Scripps Oceanography as director for two decades. Series: "Science in the Public Interest" [Science] [Show ID: 38495]