WEBVTT - Lab 024: BHM: STEM Edition

0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:03.080
<v Speaker 1>Can you believe it has been a year.

0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:06.120
<v Speaker 2>I can't. It makes me emotional. I can't believe we've

0:00:06.120 --> 0:00:07.160
<v Speaker 2>been doing this for a year.

0:00:07.400 --> 0:00:08.480
<v Speaker 1>Don't try to make me cry.

0:00:08.680 --> 0:00:10.120
<v Speaker 2>Our baby is one year old.

0:00:10.320 --> 0:00:13.720
<v Speaker 1>Dope Labs is one year old, and it feels just right,

0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:17.799
<v Speaker 1>you know, on this anniversary in Black History Month, it

0:00:17.840 --> 0:00:21.040
<v Speaker 1>feels right for us to really highlight some of our

0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:26.840
<v Speaker 1>favorites y'all. Yes, some of our favorites in Stem.

0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:30.000
<v Speaker 2>Yes, all the black folks in Stem that are all

0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:32.120
<v Speaker 2>over the world. We wanted to hear all about the

0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:32.879
<v Speaker 2>work that you do.

0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:36.320
<v Speaker 1>So if you listen to the end of the last episode.

0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:38.839
<v Speaker 2>Or if you follow us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, you.

0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:41.159
<v Speaker 1>Would have heard a call where we said, hey, if

0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:44.360
<v Speaker 1>you're black and you're in Stem, we want to hear

0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:47.159
<v Speaker 1>from you. We said to record yourself kind of explaining

0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:49.560
<v Speaker 1>what you do, what your field is, where you affiliated,

0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:51.360
<v Speaker 1>what you like to do in your spare time. We

0:00:51.360 --> 0:00:52.360
<v Speaker 1>wanted to hear all about.

0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:56.000
<v Speaker 2>It, and y'all responded a lot.

0:00:56.520 --> 0:00:58.720
<v Speaker 1>Yes. Now before we even get started, I want to

0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:01.440
<v Speaker 1>tell y'all will thirty minutes. So we had to cut

0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:02.000
<v Speaker 1>some clips.

0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:05.360
<v Speaker 2>I'm sorry. We could not put everybody if we did,

0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:08.640
<v Speaker 2>we would need hours and hours and hours of space.

0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:13.120
<v Speaker 1>But we have a couple of your fellow Dope Labs

0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:15.440
<v Speaker 1>listeners who are black in stem that we really want

0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:18.679
<v Speaker 1>to highlight and I can't wait. I'm Tt and I'm.

0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:36.600
<v Speaker 2>Zakijah and from Spotify Studios. This is Dope Labs.

0:01:36.959 --> 0:01:39.319
<v Speaker 1>So first we're going to give you a few little

0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:41.399
<v Speaker 1>tidbits about Black History Months. Yeah.

0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:44.000
<v Speaker 2>So Black History Month is celebrated here in the US,

0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:46.679
<v Speaker 2>in the UK, Canada, and Ireland.

0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:49.920
<v Speaker 1>Wow, Ireland, right, I.

0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:53.080
<v Speaker 2>Was thinking the same thing. And it started with Black

0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:57.040
<v Speaker 2>History Week back in nineteen twenty six. Cartigie Woodson wanted

0:01:57.040 --> 0:02:01.920
<v Speaker 2>to celebrate Black history and so he designated the second

0:02:01.960 --> 0:02:05.880
<v Speaker 2>week in February as Negro History Week, Okay, And so

0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:08.960
<v Speaker 2>he chose the second week because it was the birthdays

0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:13.080
<v Speaker 2>of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas. And so then Black

0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:16.320
<v Speaker 2>History Month, So we're expanding out from Negro History Week

0:02:16.360 --> 0:02:18.760
<v Speaker 2>to Black History Month. That was in nineteen sixty nine,

0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:22.919
<v Speaker 2>and it was first celebrated at Kent State in Ohio

0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:25.959
<v Speaker 2>in nineteen seventy. Yes, and then when you fast forward

0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:29.399
<v Speaker 2>six years, Black History Month is being celebrated all over

0:02:29.400 --> 0:02:31.880
<v Speaker 2>the country in all different types of communities.

0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:36.720
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and then President Gerald Ford formally recognized Black History

0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:38.560
<v Speaker 1>Month and we've been rocking with it ever since.

0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:39.760
<v Speaker 2>Black Power fitth sign.

0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:46.040
<v Speaker 1>So, like we said, this episode, we reached out to you,

0:02:46.120 --> 0:02:48.480
<v Speaker 1>and you guys gave us some great clips about what

0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:52.560
<v Speaker 1>you're doing, and I can't wait to share those with everybody.

0:02:53.800 --> 0:02:54.000
<v Speaker 3>You know.

0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:56.880
<v Speaker 1>I have to say I don't like to give engineer

0:02:56.880 --> 0:02:58.799
<v Speaker 1>in Hiss props, but y'all showed out.

0:02:59.080 --> 0:03:01.720
<v Speaker 2>Yes, y'all did, and I'm very proud as a fellow

0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:05.080
<v Speaker 2>black and engineering person. I was very proud that that

0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:07.400
<v Speaker 2>E and STEM came in strong.

0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:08.280
<v Speaker 4>It was a.

0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:13.240
<v Speaker 2>Capital E bold in the boldest font you can think of.

0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:16.040
<v Speaker 2>So that's where we're going to start today. Yes, and

0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:19.200
<v Speaker 2>so I think before we jump into our clips that

0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:22.359
<v Speaker 2>we received, I think given a general overview of what

0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:28.399
<v Speaker 2>engineering is and why it's important. Is important. So engineering

0:03:28.560 --> 0:03:34.080
<v Speaker 2>is the how you apply science and math into the

0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:36.520
<v Speaker 2>real world, into the things that we touch and feel.

0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:40.520
<v Speaker 2>So engineering is important because when you look around you

0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:45.480
<v Speaker 2>at pretty much everything within sight, somebody had to engineer that.

0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:50.320
<v Speaker 2>So they had to understand its characteristics, it's chemical properties,

0:03:51.840 --> 0:03:55.600
<v Speaker 2>its structure in order to make something work well, for

0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:58.120
<v Speaker 2>it to work efficiently, and for it to be useful

0:03:58.160 --> 0:04:02.120
<v Speaker 2>for you. Engineers are very very important. I don't mean

0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:04.200
<v Speaker 2>to toot our own horn.

0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:05.400
<v Speaker 5>But toue.

0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:08.000
<v Speaker 1>I think that's called laying on the horn. I don't

0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:11.520
<v Speaker 1>even think that's tooting it. Well, that's fine, that's fine,

0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:13.520
<v Speaker 1>that's fine. Engineering is important.

0:04:13.680 --> 0:04:17.919
<v Speaker 2>Engineers are important, and I am very proud to be

0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:20.400
<v Speaker 2>an engineer and to be a black engineer.

0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:21.760
<v Speaker 1>Let's get into the clips.

0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:24.880
<v Speaker 4>My name is Chandler, and I'm a structural engineer in training.

0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:28.240
<v Speaker 4>In my work, I take an architectural concept of a

0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:30.880
<v Speaker 4>building and turn it into something that can withstand loads

0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:35.680
<v Speaker 4>from people, equipment, winds, snow, earthquakes, and many other forces.

0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:38.599
<v Speaker 4>Then I build structural models to analyze the forces on

0:04:38.680 --> 0:04:41.240
<v Speaker 4>all of the structural members and produce drawings so that

0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:44.320
<v Speaker 4>it can be built. Structural engineering is important because it

0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:46.920
<v Speaker 4>allows us to enjoy the beauty of the built environment

0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:50.400
<v Speaker 4>while also staying safe and protected from the elements and

0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:51.400
<v Speaker 4>forces around us.

0:04:52.000 --> 0:04:55.839
<v Speaker 2>Yes, the work that Chandler is doing is super important.

0:04:56.200 --> 0:04:59.320
<v Speaker 2>If we think about any building, any structure that we've

0:04:59.360 --> 0:05:03.320
<v Speaker 2>stepped into in our lives, a structural engineer has been

0:05:03.360 --> 0:05:05.960
<v Speaker 2>a part of that. They have used their mind to

0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:08.720
<v Speaker 2>make sure that that building stays up while we're in it.

0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:10.920
<v Speaker 2>And the thing that we also have to consider is

0:05:10.920 --> 0:05:15.400
<v Speaker 2>that what is taken into account when a structural engineer

0:05:15.440 --> 0:05:19.400
<v Speaker 2>is working is not just oh, how does concrete stand up?

0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:22.000
<v Speaker 2>How does rebar stand up? How do all these things

0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:26.440
<v Speaker 2>stand up? Brick whatever it allbar? So rebar is a

0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:29.160
<v Speaker 2>reinforcing steel that they usually put in concrete just to

0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:31.600
<v Speaker 2>help it hold together. So if you were to go

0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:34.080
<v Speaker 2>to any building that was recently knocked down, you could

0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:37.200
<v Speaker 2>see rebar all through the concrete and things like that. Okay,

0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:40.760
<v Speaker 2>they also have to consider where that building is being

0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:43.880
<v Speaker 2>or that structure is being built. So let's say that

0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:47.880
<v Speaker 2>they're in the northeast. We get a lot of hurricanes here,

0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:51.440
<v Speaker 2>so you have to build this structure with that in mind.

0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:54.800
<v Speaker 2>So you have to think, what are hurricane wins? How

0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:57.640
<v Speaker 2>many miles per hour is that? And then they start

0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:00.200
<v Speaker 2>to test those things out. So they might build like

0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:02.960
<v Speaker 2>a mini a sample structure, and then they put it

0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:05.800
<v Speaker 2>in a wind tunnel and let that wind just whip

0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:08.280
<v Speaker 2>it just like how a hurricane would, and see if

0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:10.000
<v Speaker 2>it stands up, if it stands up, they know that

0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:12.160
<v Speaker 2>they're doing the right thing, and then they can use

0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:15.120
<v Speaker 2>that material and build these buildings that protect us during

0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:18.240
<v Speaker 2>those times. That's the reason why when we have all

0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:22.800
<v Speaker 2>of these really really harsh weather events, we feel so

0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:25.880
<v Speaker 2>lucky that our houses don't fall down, you know. And

0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:30.960
<v Speaker 2>then you also have to consider time and other events

0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:33.839
<v Speaker 2>that we in our every day don't think about. So

0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:36.480
<v Speaker 2>you have to consider how many people are going to

0:06:36.520 --> 0:06:37.840
<v Speaker 2>be in this building, what is this building going to

0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:38.240
<v Speaker 2>be used for?

0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:39.520
<v Speaker 1>Is how long should it last?

0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:42.160
<v Speaker 2>Right, So you have to take all those things into

0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:44.760
<v Speaker 2>account when you are when you are building these structures.

0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:47.240
<v Speaker 2>And let's not just focus on buildings. Let's talk about tunnels,

0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:50.919
<v Speaker 2>bridges and things like that. So if you're thinking about

0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:54.760
<v Speaker 2>a bridge that connects two pieces of land, that's what

0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:57.880
<v Speaker 2>a bridge is. They have to consider how many cars

0:06:58.000 --> 0:06:59.880
<v Speaker 2>are going to be going over it's the average amount

0:06:59.880 --> 0:07:01.520
<v Speaker 2>of is going to be going over this in a year.

0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:03.320
<v Speaker 2>What does it need to withstand? So then you have

0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:07.240
<v Speaker 2>to go through wear and tear testing for these different materials. Tunnels,

0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:09.880
<v Speaker 2>is a tunnel going to be underwater? How many pounds

0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:12.840
<v Speaker 2>per square inch of pressure doesn't need to withstand.

0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:14.000
<v Speaker 1>These are all the.

0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:16.320
<v Speaker 2>Things that structural engineers do, and this is why I

0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:18.880
<v Speaker 2>love that field. I'm not a structural engineer, but I

0:07:18.920 --> 0:07:20.760
<v Speaker 2>have so much respect for them.

0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:25.640
<v Speaker 1>I can't tell you're not a structural engineer. I don't

0:07:25.680 --> 0:07:29.000
<v Speaker 1>know if this feels obvious or not, but it just

0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:31.840
<v Speaker 1>occurred to me based on the things that you're saying.

0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:32.640
<v Speaker 6>Right.

0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:35.080
<v Speaker 1>Why you can look at something on TV that has

0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:37.560
<v Speaker 1>multiple houses and you can kind of pinpoint this is

0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:39.720
<v Speaker 1>where this is in America, or this is where this

0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:42.600
<v Speaker 1>is in the world, right, because these structural engineers have

0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:46.880
<v Speaker 1>optimized what a home should look or feel like based

0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:49.760
<v Speaker 1>on what's happening in that area. Yeah, and you.

0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:53.760
<v Speaker 2>Know who the first structural engineers were the indigenous people

0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:58.080
<v Speaker 2>of America. Yes, yeacause if you go out to places

0:07:58.120 --> 0:08:00.760
<v Speaker 2>in like the desert or Arizona and how they build

0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:03.280
<v Speaker 2>their houses, the indigenous people were doing that way before

0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:06.320
<v Speaker 2>the structural the modern day structural engineers came along.

0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:09.440
<v Speaker 1>I was reading something about homes in Japan and how

0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:13.360
<v Speaker 1>they have these narrow these narrow entry points, and something

0:08:13.400 --> 0:08:15.440
<v Speaker 1>about where you spray the water on the ground so

0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:17.880
<v Speaker 1>that evaporates so it feels cool and all of this

0:08:17.880 --> 0:08:20.480
<v Speaker 1>stuff people were doing. I'm like, these those are structural

0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:23.360
<v Speaker 1>engineer structural engineers, and I think one of the things

0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:26.160
<v Speaker 1>you hit, a structural engineer has to really understand the

0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:28.960
<v Speaker 1>material that they're working with toom and it feels like

0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:34.400
<v Speaker 1>structural engineering is a natural partner with material science.

0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:39.000
<v Speaker 2>Ooh, my other love, that's my main joint. That's my

0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:40.600
<v Speaker 2>bay material science.

0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:44.160
<v Speaker 6>This is Cicily speaking. I am a fifth year PhD

0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:48.360
<v Speaker 6>student studying chemistry and materials science. Right now, I'm using

0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:51.280
<v Speaker 6>a confocal microscope, which is a tool that I use

0:08:51.320 --> 0:08:55.640
<v Speaker 6>a lot because I study colloidal particle materials. So colleors

0:08:55.640 --> 0:09:00.360
<v Speaker 6>are present in many cosmetic formulations. All the lotions, creams,

0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:02.280
<v Speaker 6>things like this that you use. These are made up

0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:05.640
<v Speaker 6>of coloidal emulsions, as well as the droplets of water

0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:07.959
<v Speaker 6>that make up clouds in the sky, the milk in

0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:10.560
<v Speaker 6>your fridge, the paint on your walls, all of these

0:09:10.559 --> 0:09:15.439
<v Speaker 6>things were developed using colloid chemistry. So specifically, I make

0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:19.839
<v Speaker 6>solid coloidal particles, which can be thought of as really

0:09:19.880 --> 0:09:23.640
<v Speaker 6>really small marbles. And this is important because, as I've mentioned,

0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:26.439
<v Speaker 6>colloids are present in a lot of materials that you

0:09:26.520 --> 0:09:29.400
<v Speaker 6>interact with daily and being able to manipulate the structure

0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:33.120
<v Speaker 6>of the building block of these materials can give materials

0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:37.000
<v Speaker 6>with really interesting property. So, for example, coloidal particles can

0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:40.240
<v Speaker 6>be used to create photonic crystals, which can emulate the

0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:44.160
<v Speaker 6>kinds of iridescent color and diffraction patterns that you see

0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:47.680
<v Speaker 6>in things like opals and clamshells and blue moor fro butterflies.

0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:50.320
<v Speaker 6>So I create new colodo building blocks so that we

0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:53.360
<v Speaker 6>can have some day, you know, screens that only require

0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:56.320
<v Speaker 6>the input of light rather than the input of electricity.

0:09:56.559 --> 0:09:59.120
<v Speaker 6>So that's one of the applications of what I do. So, yeah,

0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:01.280
<v Speaker 6>that's a bit about me material scientists.

0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:05.240
<v Speaker 2>I love this because just like Cicily, I am a

0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:08.880
<v Speaker 2>material scientist as well. I didn't work with materials on

0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:11.240
<v Speaker 2>the micrometer scale that I worked with materials that were

0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:13.960
<v Speaker 2>on the nanometer scale, so a little bit smaller. But

0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:18.720
<v Speaker 2>I totally understand the colloidal chemistry that she's doing and

0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:24.080
<v Speaker 2>why this is so important. Okay, So colloidal particles are spherical,

0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:27.000
<v Speaker 2>and they're dispersed. It can be dispersed in a gas,

0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:30.480
<v Speaker 2>a liquid, or solid. The ones that we most commonly

0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:32.760
<v Speaker 2>understand are the ones that are dispersed in a liquid,

0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:35.440
<v Speaker 2>and the reason why they're so cool and so important

0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:39.880
<v Speaker 2>it's because when they're stable, everything looks nice and smooth,

0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:42.719
<v Speaker 2>but if they're unstable, then things start to clump up

0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:46.800
<v Speaker 2>and not look so great, and that balance between the

0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:49.880
<v Speaker 2>two is really really hard to find. So when people

0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:53.520
<v Speaker 2>like Sicily are doing really novel work to create different

0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:57.320
<v Speaker 2>structures inside of a colloidal suspension, whether it be solid

0:10:57.360 --> 0:11:02.800
<v Speaker 2>liquid or gas, it is very very difficult to do,

0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:08.600
<v Speaker 2>especially if those particles are not spherical. So when she

0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:12.880
<v Speaker 2>talks about the butterfly and clamshells and how you could

0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:15.320
<v Speaker 2>see those rainbow colors when you look at them, it's

0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:18.800
<v Speaker 2>the diffraction of light. And so when light hits those

0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:24.240
<v Speaker 2>things because of the particle structure within the clamshell or

0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:27.760
<v Speaker 2>in the butterfly wing, we see that rainbow because of

0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:31.079
<v Speaker 2>how the light is reflecting back. Okay, so what she's

0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:34.520
<v Speaker 2>doing is really really innovative and really really cool, and

0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:38.480
<v Speaker 2>it's gonna change everything. So what you're saying is that

0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:42.120
<v Speaker 2>we're getting this refraction of light and she's creating something

0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:44.800
<v Speaker 2>that will probably that could do the same thing. That

0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:47.480
<v Speaker 2>feels like, I mean, I'm gonna get you, give you your

0:11:47.440 --> 0:11:48.040
<v Speaker 2>engineering and.

0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:51.959
<v Speaker 1>Material science props. But that also feels like biomemicry, right.

0:11:52.040 --> 0:11:56.320
<v Speaker 1>That feels like, okay, taking things that exist in biology

0:11:56.360 --> 0:12:01.959
<v Speaker 1>and living organisms and recreating them right to advance to technology. Okay,

0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:04.679
<v Speaker 1>I think we're in the biowheelhouse. I'm just gonna just

0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:06.559
<v Speaker 1>gonna go ahead and say this is my spoke.

0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:10.839
<v Speaker 2>I see where you're going. Okay, So that we've had

0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:13.920
<v Speaker 2>enough of the engineering talk, I am very excited to

0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:15.679
<v Speaker 2>jump into the biosciences.

0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:19.360
<v Speaker 1>Biology is the study of living organisms. And people always

0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:21.360
<v Speaker 1>say like, oh, biology is that means you with plants

0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:24.080
<v Speaker 1>and animals, But there's so much more to it. Just

0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:27.720
<v Speaker 1>like we learned about engineering at this macro scale when

0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:30.840
<v Speaker 1>we talked about structural engineering and building things up, the

0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:35.160
<v Speaker 1>same parallels exist in biology. So you have people that

0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:38.679
<v Speaker 1>study ecosystems and organisms and how they interact, and then

0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:40.920
<v Speaker 1>you and how to build up systems and how to

0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:44.280
<v Speaker 1>make them, how to make different types of organisms work together,

0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:46.200
<v Speaker 1>which is what I used to be interested in, you know,

0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:50.120
<v Speaker 1>so microbial symbiosis. But then also there are people that

0:12:50.160 --> 0:12:52.640
<v Speaker 1>study how to break these systems down and how to

0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:56.080
<v Speaker 1>look at these things that are really tiny nano or

0:12:56.600 --> 0:13:01.240
<v Speaker 1>micro level you know, before we were even recording this episode,

0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:04.680
<v Speaker 1>I was telling you about these African sicklets, these fish.

0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:05.040
<v Speaker 7>You know.

0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:06.360
<v Speaker 1>I go down the rabbit hole.

0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:15.080
<v Speaker 2>My friend she watches one video on Twitter and I

0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:17.760
<v Speaker 2>saw someone give a presentation on this earlier this week,

0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:21.280
<v Speaker 2>and so it has really just rocked my world. And

0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:24.000
<v Speaker 2>I'm like, there's so much we don't know about fish

0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:26.360
<v Speaker 2>and behavior and things we can learn. And we have

0:13:26.480 --> 0:13:30.560
<v Speaker 2>someone who's who called in? Who's a marine biologist? Perfect?

0:13:30.679 --> 0:13:31.760
<v Speaker 1>Perfect, let's hear it.

0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:35.240
<v Speaker 7>My name is Cinda Scott, and I'm a marine biologist.

0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:38.640
<v Speaker 7>I'm the director of the Center for Tropical Island Biodiversity

0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:42.679
<v Speaker 7>Studies at the School for Field Studies in Bocas del Toro, Panama.

0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:47.640
<v Speaker 7>I'm female, I'm black. I'm originally from Boston, Massachusetts, and

0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:50.559
<v Speaker 7>I live and work abroad in Panama. I chose a

0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:54.199
<v Speaker 7>career in marine biology because I've always been fascinated by

0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:56.840
<v Speaker 7>the fact that humans and fish have many genes in common.

0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:01.440
<v Speaker 7>Fish are our oldest vertebrate ancestor, and through them we

0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:04.679
<v Speaker 7>can understand more about ourselves. In addition to the fascinating

0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:07.400
<v Speaker 7>world of fish, I mean, they can change colors in

0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:10.400
<v Speaker 7>the blink of an eye, they can switch sexes, and

0:14:10.440 --> 0:14:13.640
<v Speaker 7>they have an incredible array of adaptations that we merror

0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:17.480
<v Speaker 7>humans barely understand. Fish can tell us so much about

0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:21.440
<v Speaker 7>how we evolved, for example, major systems such as metabolism,

0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:24.200
<v Speaker 7>and when you study fish and really see how varied

0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:27.320
<v Speaker 7>their genome sizes are, you can really begin to understand

0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:31.840
<v Speaker 7>how it's actually possible that so much diversity exists between species.

0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:36.840
<v Speaker 2>Sinda's work is really cool. I never even thought of

0:14:37.120 --> 0:14:37.600
<v Speaker 2>any of that.

0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:39.960
<v Speaker 1>It feels very similar to this conversation we had with

0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:43.880
<v Speaker 1>doctor Kismikia Corbett when we were preparing for the coronavirus episode.

0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:47.000
<v Speaker 1>Do you remember, yes, you know, people often say, oh,

0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:49.000
<v Speaker 1>why are they studying this grass opera or why are

0:14:49.040 --> 0:14:53.920
<v Speaker 1>they studying bats? And why are they studying fish when

0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:57.240
<v Speaker 1>there are so much human disease? But like she said,

0:14:57.320 --> 0:15:01.680
<v Speaker 1>we share genetic information with these organisms, right.

0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:06.800
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so potentially studying those organisms and animals it could

0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:13.360
<v Speaker 2>lead to us discovering potential cures for maybe diseases that

0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:14.760
<v Speaker 2>we have as humans.

0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:17.040
<v Speaker 1>I mean, I think it just leads to broader understanding

0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:22.760
<v Speaker 1>of life in general. Right, changes over time, advantageous changes,

0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:25.560
<v Speaker 1>things that we can see different branch points where things

0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:28.600
<v Speaker 1>have evolved in different ways. Exactly, there's so much to

0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:31.600
<v Speaker 1>learn there. To quote Jay Z, here we.

0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:34.920
<v Speaker 2>Go hope did that, so hopefully you wouldn't have to

0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:40.640
<v Speaker 2>go through that. These animals, these animals are experiencing these

0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:44.200
<v Speaker 2>things that almost directly mirror what we go through. If

0:15:44.680 --> 0:15:47.800
<v Speaker 2>they have found a way to adapt or learn a

0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:51.240
<v Speaker 2>way to heal themselves or anything like that, if they

0:15:51.240 --> 0:15:54.760
<v Speaker 2>have the secret, why should we have to go through that.

0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:57.440
<v Speaker 2>They're here to help us. We're all living in this

0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:00.680
<v Speaker 2>animal kingdom together. And so that brings us to one

0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:03.720
<v Speaker 2>of our next topics, which is human disease. One of

0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:07.800
<v Speaker 2>my first, it was actually my second research experience, was

0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:10.760
<v Speaker 2>working with this professor, doctor EMMANUELA.

0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:15.800
<v Speaker 1>Taioli. It was an epidemiology lab, and I studied mammographic density,

0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:19.280
<v Speaker 1>and so we would look at they would look at

0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:23.680
<v Speaker 1>mammograms and based on like there was some program they

0:16:23.680 --> 0:16:27.920
<v Speaker 1>had and based on how the mammogram looked, you could

0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:30.000
<v Speaker 1>kind of get an idea of breast density, and so

0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:31.720
<v Speaker 1>they were trying to see if there was a correlation.

0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:35.120
<v Speaker 1>They were saying that it seemed like African American women

0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:38.160
<v Speaker 1>their breast density was higher and they were trying to

0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:40.720
<v Speaker 1>see if there was a correlation between breast density and

0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:45.520
<v Speaker 1>predictions about breast cancer from the mammograms. It was like

0:16:45.560 --> 0:16:48.320
<v Speaker 1>this MAM's data set. I don't know. It was my

0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:49.040
<v Speaker 1>sophomore year.

0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:51.640
<v Speaker 2>Girl, I still trying to learn.

0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:54.360
<v Speaker 1>It was a summer research experience.

0:16:56.200 --> 0:16:57.320
<v Speaker 2>That's really interesting work.

0:16:57.400 --> 0:16:59.320
<v Speaker 1>Though I don't know what they found on the study.

0:16:59.360 --> 0:17:02.680
<v Speaker 1>But you know, you never finish a study and never right.

0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:06.760
<v Speaker 1>And this next topic is special to me. The caller, right,

0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:09.800
<v Speaker 1>this is one of my really good friends and we've

0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:12.240
<v Speaker 1>been friends for a really long time, and he is

0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:16.000
<v Speaker 1>the reason I didn't leave Hampton the first year. And

0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:18.560
<v Speaker 1>I was like, I am in the first week. Okay,

0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:20.919
<v Speaker 1>it was right after Labor Day.

0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:21.560
<v Speaker 5>I want to go.

0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:24.240
<v Speaker 1>And that's exactly what I said. And if you've been

0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:26.200
<v Speaker 1>to Hampton, you know you can't have a car on campus.

0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:27.399
<v Speaker 1>And I was like, well, you drive me back to

0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:28.000
<v Speaker 1>North Carolina.

0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:28.679
<v Speaker 2>I've got to get home.

0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:31.040
<v Speaker 1>I don't think this is for me. I should have

0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:36.520
<v Speaker 1>gone to A and T. And he just really helped

0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:38.280
<v Speaker 1>me stay on the path. So he was a chemistry major.

0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:40.719
<v Speaker 1>I was a biology major. We knew each other from

0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:42.480
<v Speaker 1>high school, went to the same college and then he

0:17:42.520 --> 0:17:44.439
<v Speaker 1>went to med school, and so I'll let you hear

0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:45.160
<v Speaker 1>about what he does.

0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:48.000
<v Speaker 5>Hi, my name is Randy Miles, and I am a

0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:51.919
<v Speaker 5>doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School.

0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:55.680
<v Speaker 5>I am a radiologist who specializes in breast imaging, which

0:17:55.720 --> 0:17:58.920
<v Speaker 5>means I interpret X rays of the breast called mammograms,

0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:03.400
<v Speaker 5>looking for any signs of breast cancer. So in the US,

0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:06.760
<v Speaker 5>about one out of eight women will develop breast cancer

0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:12.119
<v Speaker 5>over their lifetime. So it is important, I repeat very important,

0:18:12.320 --> 0:18:16.160
<v Speaker 5>that women at average risk receive a mammogram every year,

0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:21.000
<v Speaker 5>starting at age forty. Our goal is to find cancers

0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:24.760
<v Speaker 5>if they do develop when they are small so they

0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:29.679
<v Speaker 5>are easily treated. So if you're listening to this you

0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:32.320
<v Speaker 5>are a woman and you are over the age of

0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:35.760
<v Speaker 5>forty and are not up to date with your mammogram,

0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:38.679
<v Speaker 5>don't be scared, Go get screen.

0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:39.040
<v Speaker 7>Friends.

0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:42.520
<v Speaker 5>Science is such a big part of my job, from

0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:47.760
<v Speaker 5>X ray generation to performing procedures. Yes, I do biopsies. Two.

0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:52.480
<v Speaker 5>My job is dope, just not as dope as Zakia

0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:56.960
<v Speaker 5>and TT. For more information on breast cancer and breast imaging,

0:18:57.880 --> 0:19:01.480
<v Speaker 5>please follow me on Twitter at our Miles.

0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:04.119
<v Speaker 1>MDD Randy rand.

0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:07.680
<v Speaker 2>We love Randy, we do.

0:19:10.560 --> 0:19:13.359
<v Speaker 1>And the work he's doing is so important, you know.

0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:15.200
<v Speaker 1>I think one of the things that I've been really

0:19:15.240 --> 0:19:19.640
<v Speaker 1>interested in is the awareness around health, like just health

0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:24.160
<v Speaker 1>awareness and prioritizing one's health, especially in the black community, right.

0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:26.280
<v Speaker 1>And I think the people that are doing STEM outreach

0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:29.520
<v Speaker 1>they're spreading that message too, right. They're saying like, this

0:19:29.600 --> 0:19:31.439
<v Speaker 1>is important, this is what you should be doing, this

0:19:31.480 --> 0:19:33.840
<v Speaker 1>is why this matters. This is how one thing is

0:19:33.880 --> 0:19:36.400
<v Speaker 1>linked to another. I was talking to someone the other

0:19:36.480 --> 0:19:39.879
<v Speaker 1>day and we were talking about dental health, which a

0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:42.400
<v Speaker 1>lot of people think of based on how our current

0:19:42.440 --> 0:19:46.480
<v Speaker 1>insurance system is as a luxury. But gum disease and

0:19:46.640 --> 0:19:50.600
<v Speaker 1>bacteria in your gums can lead to heart disease because

0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:53.520
<v Speaker 1>it's all linked to the same blood system. And I'm like,

0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:57.800
<v Speaker 1>who knew? I mean, I knew it, But do you

0:19:58.200 --> 0:19:59.920
<v Speaker 1>think about that when you think about brushing your teeth

0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:01.560
<v Speaker 1>floss and do you think about heart health?

0:20:01.600 --> 0:20:03.320
<v Speaker 2>That's why I brush my teeth before I eat.

0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:12.399
<v Speaker 1>Okay, that's good Britsting. Okay, So we've heard from some

0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:14.080
<v Speaker 1>of you, but we have some more people coming up.

0:20:14.480 --> 0:20:16.640
<v Speaker 1>We're gonna take a quick break and when we come back.

0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:19.560
<v Speaker 1>We're going to tell you all about STEM education and outreach.

0:20:38.840 --> 0:20:41.040
<v Speaker 2>And we're back, and so now we are going to

0:20:41.160 --> 0:20:44.840
<v Speaker 2>jump into something that is very important, and that is

0:20:45.119 --> 0:20:48.680
<v Speaker 2>STEM education and outreach. Yeah, a lot of folks think

0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:50.840
<v Speaker 2>that STEM is just in the classroom.

0:20:51.200 --> 0:20:52.080
<v Speaker 1>They can be more wrong.

0:20:52.160 --> 0:20:55.600
<v Speaker 2>Bunsen burners, beakers and all these things like that. There

0:20:55.680 --> 0:21:00.760
<v Speaker 2>is so much more to STEM than meets the eye.

0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:05.040
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think you know. It's education. Yes, in the classroom,

0:21:05.119 --> 0:21:07.679
<v Speaker 1>yes it's important, but it's also tying those principles to

0:21:08.280 --> 0:21:11.240
<v Speaker 1>day to day things that you see, right, you understand importance,

0:21:11.920 --> 0:21:15.080
<v Speaker 1>You understand, yes, the topic or the content, but then

0:21:15.119 --> 0:21:17.920
<v Speaker 1>you see how it's related to all these other systems

0:21:17.920 --> 0:21:20.040
<v Speaker 1>that we use every day. Like you just said about

0:21:20.080 --> 0:21:23.159
<v Speaker 1>structural engineering, I don't think about that when I go

0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:25.000
<v Speaker 1>in the house and walk upstairs and hope the floor

0:21:25.040 --> 0:21:27.680
<v Speaker 1>doesn't I don't hope the floor doesn't fall in. It's

0:21:27.800 --> 0:21:31.120
<v Speaker 1>just not gonna fall. Yeah, you know, I think about

0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:34.840
<v Speaker 1>that kind of stuff with civil engineers who make sure

0:21:34.880 --> 0:21:37.359
<v Speaker 1>that our water gets to us and it's not contaminated.

0:21:37.840 --> 0:21:40.439
<v Speaker 1>I'm looking at you, Flint, but I mean there's just

0:21:40.480 --> 0:21:43.760
<v Speaker 1>so many things that are happening that are related to

0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:48.080
<v Speaker 1>STEM and we don't immediately consider them STEM. And I

0:21:48.119 --> 0:21:50.000
<v Speaker 1>think we can kind of raise our awareness with that.

0:21:50.040 --> 0:21:51.440
<v Speaker 1>And the people that are doing that are folks that

0:21:51.480 --> 0:21:53.680
<v Speaker 1>are in STEM education and in outreach.

0:21:53.960 --> 0:21:54.160
<v Speaker 7>Yes.

0:21:54.520 --> 0:21:57.480
<v Speaker 1>So when we think about twenty first century learning, that's

0:21:57.520 --> 0:21:59.760
<v Speaker 1>not just in the classroom, that's on the apps, that's

0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:03.919
<v Speaker 1>podcast like this one exactly everywhere.

0:22:04.160 --> 0:22:08.760
<v Speaker 2>Yes, And with all this new technology and ways to

0:22:08.920 --> 0:22:12.280
<v Speaker 2>educate ourselves, the amount of points where STEM can touch

0:22:12.320 --> 0:22:17.640
<v Speaker 2>you are increasing exponentially. And so we loved hearing from

0:22:17.680 --> 0:22:22.240
<v Speaker 2>people who had STEM backgrounds and are in STEM outreach,

0:22:22.600 --> 0:22:24.800
<v Speaker 2>and then some that don't have STEM backgrounds and then

0:22:24.840 --> 0:22:27.200
<v Speaker 2>STEM outreach and so let's listen to that now.

0:22:27.920 --> 0:22:30.800
<v Speaker 3>Hi, my name is Mercedes Crawford from Houston, Texas, but

0:22:30.880 --> 0:22:35.360
<v Speaker 3>currently living in Washington, DC. My STEM career is not

0:22:35.520 --> 0:22:38.480
<v Speaker 3>like everyone else's. I do not have a STEM background,

0:22:38.520 --> 0:22:41.480
<v Speaker 3>but my goal and my passion in life is to

0:22:41.560 --> 0:22:45.440
<v Speaker 3>introduce students from K through twelve into STEM careers. I've

0:22:45.480 --> 0:22:48.480
<v Speaker 3>spent the last ten years introducing our amazing students to

0:22:48.560 --> 0:22:51.920
<v Speaker 3>what STEM can do for them, their families, in their communities,

0:22:52.040 --> 0:22:53.840
<v Speaker 3>and I will continue to do that as long as

0:22:53.880 --> 0:22:56.840
<v Speaker 3>I can. So keep up the good work, girls. I

0:22:56.960 --> 0:22:59.280
<v Speaker 3>use your podcast all the time. I love it, and

0:22:59.320 --> 0:23:00.560
<v Speaker 3>I hope to meet you one day.

0:23:01.040 --> 0:23:01.600
<v Speaker 2>Thanks.

0:23:02.400 --> 0:23:04.439
<v Speaker 1>I think the K through twelve you know how I

0:23:04.440 --> 0:23:05.000
<v Speaker 1>feel about that.

0:23:05.200 --> 0:23:05.640
<v Speaker 8>M hmm.

0:23:06.520 --> 0:23:08.280
<v Speaker 1>K through twelve is where my heart is a lot

0:23:08.320 --> 0:23:12.479
<v Speaker 1>of my My first exposure to STEM education was in

0:23:12.520 --> 0:23:14.520
<v Speaker 1>the K through twelve arena. Me too.

0:23:14.720 --> 0:23:14.800
<v Speaker 6>Now.

0:23:14.800 --> 0:23:17.400
<v Speaker 1>They used to participate in this program called boost back

0:23:17.440 --> 0:23:20.760
<v Speaker 1>when we read Duke and boy, those fifth graders were

0:23:20.760 --> 0:23:23.480
<v Speaker 1>giving me a run for my money. Okay. We would

0:23:23.480 --> 0:23:24.879
<v Speaker 1>meet these fifth graders and they would be in the

0:23:24.880 --> 0:23:27.679
<v Speaker 1>program through and they would join the program for the

0:23:27.800 --> 0:23:31.000
<v Speaker 1>sixth through eighth grade, and we would have these Saturday

0:23:31.040 --> 0:23:33.880
<v Speaker 1>activities and we work with them and then they would

0:23:33.880 --> 0:23:36.240
<v Speaker 1>build up to this one post of presentation and it

0:23:36.240 --> 0:23:38.800
<v Speaker 1>would just blow my mind to see how much they

0:23:38.880 --> 0:23:42.560
<v Speaker 1>learned we would do these joint activities. I still think

0:23:42.560 --> 0:23:44.200
<v Speaker 1>about my boost kids all the time.

0:23:44.400 --> 0:23:44.760
<v Speaker 2>That is.

0:23:44.880 --> 0:23:45.600
<v Speaker 1>I love that.

0:23:45.880 --> 0:23:47.560
<v Speaker 2>And I remember when I was in when when I

0:23:47.600 --> 0:23:51.800
<v Speaker 2>was in grad school with you, I was organizing graduate

0:23:51.840 --> 0:23:56.280
<v Speaker 2>students from all different backgrounds to go to this middle

0:23:56.280 --> 0:23:58.600
<v Speaker 2>school and talk about the work that they do, like yeah,

0:23:58.720 --> 0:24:02.320
<v Speaker 2>really relaxed and like ted talks style so that kids

0:24:02.320 --> 0:24:05.479
<v Speaker 2>can see themselves in us basically and let them know

0:24:05.560 --> 0:24:07.800
<v Speaker 2>like how we got there, Like a lot of people

0:24:07.880 --> 0:24:11.119
<v Speaker 2>had struggle stories about how they got to being in

0:24:11.200 --> 0:24:14.240
<v Speaker 2>graduate school. And it just kind of humanizes what a

0:24:14.280 --> 0:24:17.640
<v Speaker 2>scientist is. Because what I would always ask in the beginning,

0:24:17.640 --> 0:24:19.280
<v Speaker 2>like what do you think a scientist looks like? And

0:24:19.320 --> 0:24:23.960
<v Speaker 2>they would describe this old guy with a lab coat, pocket, protector,

0:24:24.440 --> 0:24:27.880
<v Speaker 2>glasses and all these they basically were describing with Albert

0:24:27.880 --> 0:24:30.520
<v Speaker 2>Einstein or whatever they thought he looked like. And so

0:24:30.720 --> 0:24:33.160
<v Speaker 2>I would bring these people in and say, look, I'm

0:24:33.160 --> 0:24:37.639
<v Speaker 2>a scientist, they're a scientist, and we're regular. So it

0:24:37.840 --> 0:24:40.800
<v Speaker 2>really I feel like it really helps to show those

0:24:40.840 --> 0:24:44.240
<v Speaker 2>things to the k through twelve students. So I think, yes,

0:24:44.800 --> 0:24:49.840
<v Speaker 2>it's both exposing students, exposing students to careers in science

0:24:49.840 --> 0:24:52.919
<v Speaker 2>and helping them see what a scientist looks like and

0:24:52.960 --> 0:24:55.760
<v Speaker 2>then just giving them a deep dive, hands on experience

0:24:55.840 --> 0:24:56.359
<v Speaker 2>in science.

0:24:56.880 --> 0:24:58.760
<v Speaker 1>And our next caller has done that.

0:24:59.359 --> 0:25:03.520
<v Speaker 9>Hi, doctor Serena mcala, and I am the president and

0:25:03.560 --> 0:25:08.200
<v Speaker 9>founder of I Research Foundation and I Research Institute. With

0:25:08.240 --> 0:25:13.280
<v Speaker 9>regards to the foundation, we raise funds to support underrepresented

0:25:13.280 --> 0:25:17.200
<v Speaker 9>and underprivileged young adults who are interested in science research

0:25:17.240 --> 0:25:21.919
<v Speaker 9>but maybe don't have access to complete science research projects.

0:25:22.600 --> 0:25:26.399
<v Speaker 9>And at the Foundation, we provide them an opportunity to

0:25:27.400 --> 0:25:32.680
<v Speaker 9>work at I research institute on either learning about research

0:25:32.760 --> 0:25:35.400
<v Speaker 9>methods and the steps in order to become a researcher,

0:25:35.760 --> 0:25:37.760
<v Speaker 9>how to write an abstract, how to write a paper,

0:25:38.480 --> 0:25:41.880
<v Speaker 9>or at the four week level where they are more

0:25:41.920 --> 0:25:46.240
<v Speaker 9>advanced students, we actually help them create projects that we

0:25:47.480 --> 0:25:52.000
<v Speaker 9>provide all of the reagents for and equipment for and

0:25:52.040 --> 0:25:58.879
<v Speaker 9>allow them to use this arena, this laboratory to conduct

0:25:58.960 --> 0:26:02.280
<v Speaker 9>novel experimentation that they could use to write again research

0:26:02.320 --> 0:26:06.000
<v Speaker 9>papers or to compete in some of the scholarship money

0:26:06.000 --> 0:26:10.199
<v Speaker 9>that's available for STEM students. So overall, the goal of

0:26:10.400 --> 0:26:15.399
<v Speaker 9>our research institute and foundation is to really bring STEM

0:26:15.920 --> 0:26:18.359
<v Speaker 9>to the masses. We want high school age students to

0:26:18.400 --> 0:26:22.080
<v Speaker 9>be fully invested in the research process in any discipline

0:26:22.080 --> 0:26:25.120
<v Speaker 9>of science that they're interested in, and we help them

0:26:25.160 --> 0:26:28.560
<v Speaker 9>to achieve that goal through working with us.

0:26:29.280 --> 0:26:34.040
<v Speaker 1>And that last caller was being really modest. Yes, listen,

0:26:34.400 --> 0:26:36.320
<v Speaker 1>she is a rock star science teacher.

0:26:36.400 --> 0:26:39.480
<v Speaker 2>Okay, googles, y'all do your googles.

0:26:39.560 --> 0:26:46.000
<v Speaker 1>That was doctor Serena mcala, who has sends amazing projects

0:26:46.160 --> 0:26:48.840
<v Speaker 1>to the International Science Fair.

0:26:49.920 --> 0:26:51.360
<v Speaker 2>Not that Science Fair that y'all did.

0:26:52.480 --> 0:26:54.800
<v Speaker 1>This is how a plant grows.

0:26:55.000 --> 0:26:57.480
<v Speaker 2>Those kinds. We know that a plant goes with water

0:26:57.520 --> 0:27:02.720
<v Speaker 2>and light. We know that. Talking about real, probably big projects.

0:27:02.760 --> 0:27:05.439
<v Speaker 1>Okay, these are high schoolers and you can learn more

0:27:05.480 --> 0:27:07.960
<v Speaker 1>about her work and check her out. There's a national

0:27:08.040 --> 0:27:11.640
<v Speaker 1>geographic documentary called Science Fair that features her and nine

0:27:11.640 --> 0:27:14.160
<v Speaker 1>of her students who go to the International Science Fair.

0:27:14.240 --> 0:27:16.520
<v Speaker 2>I can't wait to watch it. The kid described it

0:27:16.560 --> 0:27:21.760
<v Speaker 2>as cheer but for a science and I'm hooked already. Okay,

0:27:22.359 --> 0:27:27.600
<v Speaker 2>So what Serena and Mercedes are doing is creating the

0:27:27.640 --> 0:27:32.560
<v Speaker 2>future job market, yes, in the STEM field. And that

0:27:32.960 --> 0:27:35.560
<v Speaker 2>leads us to our next point that STEM is not

0:27:35.800 --> 0:27:38.119
<v Speaker 2>just sitting at the bench, sitting at a lab bench

0:27:38.240 --> 0:27:42.960
<v Speaker 2>and mixing chemicals and dissecting things. No, STEM is an enterprise.

0:27:43.280 --> 0:27:46.880
<v Speaker 1>You're so right. I think too often we get into

0:27:46.920 --> 0:27:50.640
<v Speaker 1>this tunnel vision about what STEM science is. This is

0:27:50.680 --> 0:27:53.720
<v Speaker 1>having on a lab coat, is having a pipette, or

0:27:53.760 --> 0:27:56.399
<v Speaker 1>it's using a microscope, And I'm like, no, somebody's got

0:27:56.520 --> 0:27:58.720
<v Speaker 1>to write these budgets. Somebody's got to write these grantly,

0:27:58.840 --> 0:27:59.560
<v Speaker 1>somebody has.

0:27:59.400 --> 0:28:03.520
<v Speaker 2>To do it with the understanding of how these fields work,

0:28:03.640 --> 0:28:06.280
<v Speaker 2>so right with a lens, a STEM lens.

0:28:06.359 --> 0:28:09.800
<v Speaker 1>Yes, And I think that's something that's overlooked when we

0:28:09.840 --> 0:28:12.119
<v Speaker 1>think about careers in STEM. People say, not everybody can

0:28:12.119 --> 0:28:14.240
<v Speaker 1>be a professor. Hey, let me tell you. I was there.

0:28:14.320 --> 0:28:16.320
<v Speaker 1>That's not the only career in stam okay.

0:28:16.520 --> 0:28:19.400
<v Speaker 2>And so our next caller is a perfect example of that.

0:28:20.040 --> 0:28:23.440
<v Speaker 2>She went from being in a more traditional STEM career,

0:28:23.440 --> 0:28:25.879
<v Speaker 2>I should say, and using those skills to make a

0:28:25.920 --> 0:28:27.760
<v Speaker 2>productive STEM enterprise.

0:28:28.160 --> 0:28:31.360
<v Speaker 8>Hey, Dove Levs, my name is Kierana and I'm receiving

0:28:31.400 --> 0:28:35.560
<v Speaker 8>my master's in Engineering management. Now, my engineering degree is

0:28:35.600 --> 0:28:38.840
<v Speaker 8>not a traditional research based engineering degree, But before I

0:28:38.880 --> 0:28:41.520
<v Speaker 8>got into my master's program, I received my bachelor's in

0:28:41.600 --> 0:28:44.440
<v Speaker 8>chemical engineering, where I spent some years as a research

0:28:44.480 --> 0:28:47.920
<v Speaker 8>and development engineer in the nuclear industry. Being in the

0:28:48.000 --> 0:28:51.120
<v Speaker 8>nuclear industry is super important because so many people don't

0:28:51.200 --> 0:28:54.640
<v Speaker 8>understand it, and it's really important that once you understand

0:28:54.680 --> 0:28:57.520
<v Speaker 8>how FISSI reactions work and how you work in nuclear

0:28:57.920 --> 0:29:01.000
<v Speaker 8>that you're not as afraid of it. My master's program

0:29:01.040 --> 0:29:03.960
<v Speaker 8>is something that's more focused on engineering management, and a

0:29:04.000 --> 0:29:05.880
<v Speaker 8>lot of people don't think of management when they think

0:29:05.880 --> 0:29:08.680
<v Speaker 8>of engineering. But engineering is more than just being in

0:29:08.680 --> 0:29:13.200
<v Speaker 8>the lab or doing STEM research. There's so many different

0:29:13.240 --> 0:29:18.320
<v Speaker 8>sizes including project management, product management, operations, and black people

0:29:18.400 --> 0:29:20.840
<v Speaker 8>need to be represented on all levels. So that's what

0:29:20.960 --> 0:29:23.720
<v Speaker 8>really motivated me to get into my current program.

0:29:23.760 --> 0:29:26.960
<v Speaker 2>Now, being a part of this industry has been so

0:29:27.120 --> 0:29:29.920
<v Speaker 2>rewarding for the both of us. That's how Dope Lab

0:29:30.160 --> 0:29:34.080
<v Speaker 2>was born, you know, being black and STEM and being

0:29:34.080 --> 0:29:38.720
<v Speaker 2>a part of groups that help foster our education and

0:29:38.760 --> 0:29:44.080
<v Speaker 2>community and everything like that. And so we are always

0:29:44.360 --> 0:29:48.440
<v Speaker 2>advocates for people finding community no matter where they are

0:29:48.960 --> 0:29:51.360
<v Speaker 2>and so that they can be their very best selves.

0:29:51.560 --> 0:29:54.480
<v Speaker 1>We loved hearing you guys talk about finding your true north.

0:29:54.920 --> 0:29:58.000
<v Speaker 1>What drives you when it's not easy? What keeps you

0:29:58.040 --> 0:30:01.280
<v Speaker 1>in the lab when those results aren't looking right? What

0:30:01.480 --> 0:30:03.440
<v Speaker 1>keeps you in the field when you're tired and you

0:30:03.480 --> 0:30:05.960
<v Speaker 1>know you need to collect another another data point right?

0:30:07.160 --> 0:30:10.240
<v Speaker 1>What drives you to go and talk to those kids

0:30:10.280 --> 0:30:13.000
<v Speaker 1>even though they're talking while you're talking them?

0:30:13.080 --> 0:30:17.640
<v Speaker 2>Kids be so bad. But we honestly really loved it

0:30:17.800 --> 0:30:23.160
<v Speaker 2>because it shows that this community is growing and the

0:30:23.280 --> 0:30:26.160
<v Speaker 2>folks inside of it were lifting as we climb and you.

0:30:26.160 --> 0:30:26.800
<v Speaker 1>Love to see it.

0:30:26.880 --> 0:30:27.760
<v Speaker 2>I'd love to see it.

0:30:31.920 --> 0:30:34.520
<v Speaker 4>I love being a black woman and I love being

0:30:34.520 --> 0:30:38.640
<v Speaker 4>an engineer. I get to represent us, but even more

0:30:38.680 --> 0:30:41.840
<v Speaker 4>than that, I get to help bringing our perspectives to

0:30:41.880 --> 0:30:45.400
<v Speaker 4>the table in each of our respective sim fields, and

0:30:46.000 --> 0:30:49.480
<v Speaker 4>hopefully you start a bigger conversation that can trickle down

0:30:49.560 --> 0:30:54.120
<v Speaker 4>and positively affect young black boys and girls who may

0:30:54.200 --> 0:30:57.760
<v Speaker 4>see themselves in us and realize that they're more than

0:30:57.800 --> 0:31:00.120
<v Speaker 4>capable of excelling in any field that.

0:31:00.120 --> 0:31:03.640
<v Speaker 7>I really want to encourage young people, especially students of color,

0:31:03.680 --> 0:31:05.840
<v Speaker 7>out there, to get involved in our environment and to

0:31:05.960 --> 0:31:09.840
<v Speaker 7>work in fields where we are severely underrepresented. Marine biology

0:31:09.840 --> 0:31:13.160
<v Speaker 7>in particular is one of those fields, as is environmental

0:31:13.200 --> 0:31:17.360
<v Speaker 7>studies and conservation. And I think conservation for so long

0:31:17.400 --> 0:31:20.600
<v Speaker 7>has had one narrative and it usually does not even

0:31:20.640 --> 0:31:23.400
<v Speaker 7>include the very people who are affected by the policies

0:31:23.720 --> 0:31:26.440
<v Speaker 7>that are put in place, and that needs to change,

0:31:26.480 --> 0:31:29.000
<v Speaker 7>and more voices need to be heard. And so there

0:31:29.000 --> 0:31:31.640
<v Speaker 7>are some days when I'm out there doing field work

0:31:32.000 --> 0:31:34.120
<v Speaker 7>and we're like the only boat out there, and I think,

0:31:34.200 --> 0:31:36.760
<v Speaker 7>how is this possible that no one else is out here?

0:31:37.480 --> 0:31:39.520
<v Speaker 7>Am I the only person out here? Looking at this

0:31:39.880 --> 0:31:42.160
<v Speaker 7>and what is this black girl from Boston doing out

0:31:42.160 --> 0:31:45.280
<v Speaker 7>in the mangroves in an isolated area of Panama, surrounded

0:31:45.280 --> 0:31:48.440
<v Speaker 7>by a bunch of islands and fish, And does any

0:31:48.440 --> 0:31:52.720
<v Speaker 7>of this work even matter? And the answer is absolutely yes,

0:31:53.240 --> 0:31:54.680
<v Speaker 7>and I absolutely love it.

0:31:55.000 --> 0:31:57.160
<v Speaker 9>I'm here now and I hope to help the next

0:31:57.200 --> 0:32:00.320
<v Speaker 9>generation to achieve their goals into full and love with

0:32:00.360 --> 0:32:01.440
<v Speaker 9>the science is the way I have.

0:32:01.680 --> 0:32:03.840
<v Speaker 8>But at the end of the day, I'm an engineer,

0:32:04.160 --> 0:32:07.360
<v Speaker 8>a stem enthusiast at heart, and a Steminus to today

0:32:07.400 --> 0:32:08.720
<v Speaker 8>I die and I'm black.

0:32:08.720 --> 0:32:09.480
<v Speaker 3>It be black black.

0:32:11.520 --> 0:32:14.200
<v Speaker 1>That's it for Lab twenty four and Semester two.

0:32:14.880 --> 0:32:17.720
<v Speaker 2>Oh my gosh. We're gonna miss you, guys. We're going

0:32:17.800 --> 0:32:18.120
<v Speaker 2>on a.

0:32:18.080 --> 0:32:20.680
<v Speaker 1>Break, yes, but we will be back. Don't begin to

0:32:20.760 --> 0:32:23.360
<v Speaker 1>check our website for some links to amazing scientists who

0:32:23.360 --> 0:32:23.760
<v Speaker 1>we love.

0:32:24.080 --> 0:32:26.640
<v Speaker 2>Make sure you're following us on Instagram and Twitter so

0:32:26.680 --> 0:32:28.280
<v Speaker 2>that you can keep up with what we're doing during

0:32:28.280 --> 0:32:28.800
<v Speaker 2>our break.

0:32:28.960 --> 0:32:31.120
<v Speaker 1>Yes, and we will announce when we're coming back. We

0:32:31.160 --> 0:32:33.480
<v Speaker 1>want you to be the first to know. Yes. TT

0:32:33.680 --> 0:32:36.920
<v Speaker 1>is on Twitter at d r underscore t Sho and.

0:32:36.920 --> 0:32:41.520
<v Speaker 2>You can find Zakiya at z said so.

0:32:40.640 --> 0:32:42.680
<v Speaker 1>Dope Labs is produced by Jenny Rattle at mass of

0:32:42.720 --> 0:32:46.080
<v Speaker 1>Wave Runner Studios, with help from Elizabeth Nakano. Mixing and

0:32:46.160 --> 0:32:47.520
<v Speaker 1>sound designed by Hannis Brown.

0:32:48.000 --> 0:32:52.160
<v Speaker 2>Original theme music is by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Sugi Eurra,

0:32:52.680 --> 0:32:55.640
<v Speaker 2>with additional music by Elijah Alex Harvey.

0:32:56.000 --> 0:32:58.760
<v Speaker 1>Dope Labs is a production of Spotify Studios and Mega

0:32:58.760 --> 0:33:02.200
<v Speaker 1>Own Media Group and is executive produced by us T. T.

0:33:02.320 --> 0:33:07.400
<v Speaker 1>Shadiah and Zakiah Wattley. You don't think I would tell

0:33:07.400 --> 0:33:09.880
<v Speaker 1>you for breath snolk stink stinkd.

0:33:09.680 --> 0:33:11.719
<v Speaker 2>Jimmy, don't tell me my husband. Don't tell him.

0:33:11.720 --> 0:33:13.240
<v Speaker 1>It's because he love you. I don't love you like that.

0:33:13.680 --> 0:33:16.920
<v Speaker 2>I say, Hey girl, somebody needs to tell me