Episode 47: μ: Better Polystyrene Recycling

We have all seen the heat of atmospheric reentry depicted a thousand times in movies and TV shows, but how do we actually protect spacecraft from that danger? Taylor and Andrew sit down with Nate Olson, an aerospace engineer at NASA's Johnson Space Center, to explore the history ...  Show more

What if a materials lab on Earth could screen a hundred alloys a day with little input from the scientist? Taylor and Andrew sit down with Joseph Krause, CEO and co-founder of Radical AI, to dig into what it takes to build a self-driving lab and why most of the field is still mis ...  Show more

Recycling hasn't been the magical answer to the plastic waste problem. But new technologies and new materials might just change that. We talk to scientists who are developing new plastics, designers who are reimagining products for recyclability, and innovators who are out to red ...  Show more

How do you invent a new material? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gary O’Reilly, and Chuck Nice discuss the science of invention, biomimicry, and answer cosmic queries about materials science from our patrons with professor Dr. Jud Ready. 

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With plastic production set to double by 2050, immediate action is needed to address plastic waste pollution and the inefficiencies of existing recycling systems. Chemical recycling could help process lower-grade feedstocks, significantly upping the amount of plastic that can be ...  Show more

In this episode:00:45 A new method to break down plastic polymersPlastic waste is an enormous problem, with much of it being incinerated or ending up in landfill. One way to give plastics another life is to break them down into their individual components using heat, but this met ...  Show more