Tech Refactored

SciPop is a series of interactive talks and events open to the public at Love Library, that explore the intersection of science and pop culture. Experts share their research through the filter of pop culture on topics from the Chemistry of Harry Potter to Zombies and Brain Science. Dan Claes, a professor and the Department Chair of the University of Nebraska’s Department of Physics and Astronomy has given a number of these talks, recruited speakers, and helps facilitate the SciPop program.  Also joining the show on the other side of the microphone is Elsbeth Magilton, Tech Refactored executive producer and executive director of the Nebraska space, cyber, and telecommunications law program. She gave a SciPop talk in 2019 that went all the way from Nebraska to Las Vegas to the SXSW festival.

On this episode we’re talking about the protein folding problem, the challenge of determining the 3D shapes that proteins form, and how Google’s DeepMind system stands to transform biology. We won’t lie to you listeners. We don’t really understand what most of that means, which is why we’re joined by Dr. Nicole Buan and Dr. Juan Cui, researchers at the University of Nebraska, who can hopefully help us to understand what this all means.

On this TR/∂T (of the moment) episode, we’re joined by Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA, The Rural Broadband Association, to discuss how problems in the supply chain are affecting efforts to build communications networks and to close the divide between who has reliable connectivity and who doesn’t.

On this episode Jack Keating, a 2021 graduate of the University of Nebraska’s mechanical engineering program, tells us about the creation and development of his business Corral Technologies. Jack is joined by Dr. Santosh Pitla, a professor in the Biological Systems Engineering Department at the University of Nebraska, to discuss his work, current research, and inspiring another generation of engineers.

Across the country law enforcement units are encrypting their communications, barring the general population and journalists alike from following police radio channels. Weighing concerns with privacy and officer safety with citizen watchdog oversight and freedom of the press is an extremely complex policy issue. On this episode we get into why that may matter with an introduction from Danielle Conrad, Executive Director of the ACLU of Nebraska and an in-depth dive into the issue with Mailyn Fidler, an expert on constitutional rights and intellectual property who recently authored a piece about the growing use of encrypted communication by local police departments, who will discuss with us some of the potential issues that covert police communication presents.

Glossary:
Encryption: the process of encoding information by converting the original representation of the information into an alternative form known as ciphertext that only those with the key to that text can access.

FOIA Request: a request for information from the government using the Freedom of Information Act 

In this episode of Tech Refactored Gus and our Research Associate Neil Rutledge speak with Colton Harper of Broader Considerations of Technology (or BCT), a student organization that is a part of the Kutak Ethics Center at Nebraska. BCT is launching several impressive initiatives from data visualization workshops, to game jams, to a science fiction and ethics book club. They’re getting students across programs and disciplines engaged in applying tech skills to their interests, serving their community, and cementing the truism: the story of technology is the story of our society.