Superheroes of Science

Nicole Chavas (President + Chief Operating Officer) and Lucy Kopchak (Associate Engineer) join us to discuss green infrastructure and sustainable engineering. Due to climate change, cities are seeing an increase in stronger storms with heavier rainfalls. Traditional infrastructure (gray infrastructure) is not equipped to handle significant increases in stormwater, and new, innovative ways to manage stormwater are needed.

Greenprint Partners https://www.greenprintpartners.com/

Specializing in designing science laboratories, Marilee is a registered architect and Senior Laboratory Planner at HED, one of the oldest and largest architecture and engineering firms in the country.

Ever wonder where some A.I. programs their data? Farhan Shaikh (VP of Data and Digital Solutions at Jacobs) discusses Data Science. Jacobs is an international company working to make the world smarter, more connected, and more sustainable. Farhan explains what kind of data Jacobs and others collect and how that data is used. We discuss types of data being collected, why data is being collected, what a person would need to know if they go into data science.

Ben Taylor is a Project Manager at ACRES Land Trust in Northern Indiana. He joins us today to discuss the details of what a Land Trust is and his role in conservation and saving valuable lands for the future.

Dr. Rafael Lang from Purdue University Physics and Astronomy is an eternal optimist. As iny scienteest has to be. He is on a quest to discover Dark Matter. Dark matter is a mysterious and invisible substance that makes up a significant portion of the total matter in the universe. Unlike ordinary matter, which includes everything we can see and detect with telescopes and other instruments, dark matter does not emit, absorb, or reflect light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation.

Disha Okhai researches ancient volcanoes to learn about the patterns and processes that provide valuable information about how magma accumulates, moves, and triggers volcanic eruptions. This historical perspective allows for the identification of key indicators and precursors that signify an impending volcanic eruption. Armed with this knowledge, modern monitoring techniques can be fine-tuned to detect early warning signs of impending eruptions more effectively, leading to more accurate forecasts and enabling communities living in volcanic-prone areas to be better prepared and respond swiftly to potential threats.

This exciting crash course on tornado formation is led by Professor Dan Dawson, aka "Tornado Dan," renowned research scientist from Purdue University Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and master of all things tornado-related. In this insightful episode, Dr. Dawson unravels misconceptions surrounding these natural wonders and provides a clear and concise look at the science that underpins them.

This exciting crash course on tornado formation is led by Professor Dan Dawson, aka "Tornado Dan," renowned research scientist from Purdue University Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and master of all things tornado-related. In this insightful episode, Dr. Dawson unravels misconceptions surrounding these natural wonders and provides a clear and concise look at the science that underpins them.

Geochemist Marissa Tremblay recently returned from a field research excursion in Antarctica. She describes the extreme cold environment as well as the science that is looking to reveal the secrets of the rocks there. Specifically, what was the temperature like 3 million years ago in Antarctica?

Listen to Marissa's first recording with Superheroes of Science describing the work of a noble gas geochemist: https://purdue.libsyn.com/episode-10-marissa-tremblay