Tech Refactored

In the third episode in this series we again speak with Ash Eliza Smith on their project called “Flyover Fictions,” that pairs scientists with artists to create digital books. For the second half of the episode, Professor Kyle Langvardt sits down with one of these pairs, Joshua Herr and Yasaman Sheri , whose digital project is titled, “Desert Skin & Microbial Glyphs.” This is the final episode in the series that will explore the digital books in the Flyover research platform.

Click here to listen to episode 1.

Click here to listen to episode 2.

Checkout all the projects:

https://www.flyoverfictions.com

Joshua Herr is a biologist with broad interdisciplinary interests, focused mainly on the genomics and metagenomics of microbial interactions. His main interests center around understanding the symbiosis of mycorrhizal-plant interactions, but he follows interesting research questions where ever they may exist. Josh's research is generally environmental and laboratory studies, although he utilizes computational and bioinformatic techniques heavily.

Yasaman Sheri is Designer & Director investigating the creative inquiry of technology and biology. Her research explores interfaces of sensing, perception and aesthetics of simulation. She is an advocate for diversity in technology and builds platforms and tools that support artistic practice in Life Sciences.

On this episode we explore what leadership and innovation look like in the industry and in academia focused on the tech sector. Matt Perault is the director of the Center on Technology Policy at University of North Carolina’s School of Information & Library Science. He previously led the Center on Science & Technology Policy at Duke University. Before returning to academia, Matt was a director on the public policy team and the head of the global policy development team at Facebook. He covered issues ranging from antitrust to law enforcement to human rights and oversaw the company’s policy work on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

Alec Stapp is the co-founder and co-CEO of the Institute for Progress, a recently-launched think tank dedicated to accelerating scientific, technological, and industrial progress while safeguarding humanity’s future. Gus spoke with Alec Stapp about how he thinks about the goals of his his think tank and modern challenges in advancing scientific, tech, and industrial progress.

Dr. Ali joins the podcast to talk about his book, Farm Fresh Broadband: The Politics of Rural Connectivity. He was part of our spring speaker series, visiting Nebraska for a joint event with the Rural Reconciliation Project. His work provides an analysis of U.S. broadband policy and the rural–urban digital divide, with a proposal for a new national rural broadband plan.

Ep Notes:

Related Topic Research/Articles:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/06/opinion/rural-broadband-fcc.html

https://www.benton.org/blog/everything-you-wanted-know-about-broadband-were-afraid-ask

https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/15203

https://lpeproject.org/blog/the-legacy-of-the-rural-electrification-act-and-the-promise-of-rural-broadband/

In the second episode in this series we again speak with Ash Eliza Smith on their project called “Flyover Fictions,” that pairs scientists with artists to create digital books. Gus also sits down with one of these pairs, Andrea González Garrán and Shannon Bartelt-Hunt , whose digital project is titled, “Flush.” This is the second episode in a series of 3 that will explores the digital books in the Flyover research platform.

Click here to listen to episode 1.

Checkout all the projects:

https://www.flyoverfictions.com

Shannon Bartelt-Hunt is professor and department chair in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UNL. She is an environmental engineer whose work focuses on the occurrence and effects of contaminants in agricultural systems.

Andrea González Garrán is a designer with a background in architecture and a strong focus in editorial innovation, experimental publishing, physical and online platforms and cross media formats. Her research focuses on spatial politics, infrastructure and landscape in a playful manner.

Last year Congress allocated $48 billion, as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to broadband (internet) access. But more than the money, we need to know where we need broadband before we can build it. Our guest for this episode, Sarah Oh Lam, talks to us about the Tech Policy Institute’s (TPI) Broadband Map Project.

Follow Sarah on Twitter: @sarahecon

Related Topic Research/Articles:

Comments filed with NTIA

State of Broadband Report

TPI Broadband Map

Best selling author Brian Christian joins the podcast to discuss machine learning and his latest book, The Alignment Problem. Brian and Gus cover the alignment problem - when what we intend to teach machines to do, isn’t what they do - and the many challenges and concerns surrounding artificial intelligence and machine learning. This episode is the first featuring a speaker from this semester’s speaker series, a part of the Nebraska Governance and Technology Center’s Fellows Program. Coming later this season is Christopher Ali on rural broadband, and Anita Allen on race and privacy.

Ash Eliza Smith is one our center fellows, a professor in emerging media arts, a speculative artist, a designer, and a researcher. She is leading a project called, “Flyover Fictions” that pairs scientists with artists to create digital books.

On this episode we speak with Ash and interview one of these pairs, Santosh Pitla and Parrr Geng, whose digital project is titled, “Codex Nebolusian.” This is the first episode in a series of 3 that will explore the digital books in the Flyover research platform.

Show Notes:

Read Codex Nebolusian: https://parrr.net/Codex-Nebolusian

View and explore the Flyover Fiction books: https://www.flyoverfictions.com/fictions

Santosh Pitla is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Santosh’s research is in the area of agricultural robotics, control architectures for safe and secure operation of autonomous equipment, and tractor power characterization for multiple field operations.

Parrr Geng grew up in the Yangtze River Delta and now lives in Berlin, Germany. She currently works as an artist who builds conceptual worlds, designs characters and creates immersive environments through video games and illustrated stories.

We’re revisiting the supply chain with a new focus: the pharmaceutical industry. Joining us is Leon Xu, an Assistant Professor in the Supply Chain Management & Analytics Department at the University of Nebraska. Leon and Gus dive into the significant challenges facing the U.S. healthcare system, such as drug shortages, the opioid crisis, and exorbitant drug prices — all of which can find their root causes in the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Related Articles Provided by our guest:

Drug and Vaccine Approval:

https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/pdf/10.1287/msom.2019.0822?casa_token=XU7ZOalyna8AAAAA:nefmZh0s6MqSwBVpdZHNYIE2bWcapIrYp0Djgwga4691_xF6jIStDkuwGvNYOI4zFe15zJODHfY

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-covid-19-vaccine

Drug Shortage:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7378009/

Hospital Staff Shortage:

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/patient-flow/5-hospitals-temporarily-permanently-closing-services-because-of-staffing-shortages-2.html

Drug Pricing:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/11/02/president-biden-announces-prescription-drug-pricing-plan-in-build-back-better-framework/

On this episode Jennifer Huddleston, the director of Technology and Innovation Policy at the American Action Forum, comes back on the show to discuss some of the latest antitrust bills shaking up the business and tech world this month, and we learn more about the legislative process on how a bill becomes law and the committee processes. Jennifer joined us in June 2021 to discuss some of these bills at their initial introduction, and you can find that discussion here. While a great episode for extra details, it is not necessary background for this one.