Host Dave McMorran talks about Colloids – what they are and why they are important to us every day – and also the Austrian chemist Richard Zsigmondy, whose discovery of what colloids actually were won him the Nobel Prize in 1925.
In this episode Pradeesh, a PhD student in Computer Science, talks about his research on how to computers understand spoken language and, in particular, how they might be taught to recognise sarcasm – which could become an important tool in dealing with cyberbullying.
Pedro Rossetto, a PhD student in Mathematics, talks about his efforts to develop theories to understand the properties of neutron stars, some of the most unusual objects in the universe.
Host Dave McMorran talks about the life and work of Fritz Pregl, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1923 for inventing chemical microanalysis, which was, in turn, key to the development of biochemistry.
Scott Forrest, an MSc student in Zoology at Otago University, talks about the comings and goings, and occasional dramas, in the small community of Kaka at the Orokanui Ecosanctury near Dunedin.
Sulagna Banerjee, a PhD student in Zoology at Otago University, talks about how an understanding of brain inflammation might lead to a new approach to treating Epilepsy.
Caitlin Casey-Stevens, a PhD student in Chemistry at Otago University, talks about her research on how a computational approach can help to work out the best way to convert dangerous nitrogen-containing compounds into harmless N2 gas.
Sharn Milliken, who is studying for a Postgraduate Diploma in Science through Otago University’s Ecology Department, talks about her research into the possible effects of microplastics on the health of Cockles.
Mateus Detoni, a PhD student in the Department of Zoology, talks about his research on aggressiveness in wasps and how we might sometimes misjudge them unfairly.
Ruchita Rao Kavle, a PhD student in the Department of Food Science at Otago University, talks about her research on the protein composition of edible insects.
