Spark Science

Do you like Sci-Fi and Fantasy? Then you like Speculative Fiction and so do we.   Dr. Lysa Rivera joins us again, after being one of Spark Science's first guests, to talk about the history of Black and Brown voices in this genre and to also share some great recommendations, beyond Octavia Butler. However we of course talk about her too.  At WWU, Dr. Rivera specializes in Chicano/a/x and African American literature and has an extremely popular class focused on this field. She also currently serves on the editorial board for Femspec, an interdisciplinary and peer-reviewed journal devoted to the study of speculative fiction within feminist contexts.

Why do people believe false stories on social media? Who is most susceptible to misinformation or to the more malicious version, disinformation?   In this episode, we speak with Ph.D. candidate in Cognitive Psychology at Northwestern Nikita Salovich. Her research on how “fake news” grows and how we can slow or stop the spread.   Spark Science encourages our listeners to get vaccinated and to use the information in this episode to have discussions with hesitant family and friends to get vaccinated as well. Another great resource is the Debunking Handbook.

“Which one did you get, Pfizer or Moderna?” This was the big question at the start of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout but how do these vaccines work? Why do they have to be kept at ultracold temperatures? What is mRNA?   These questions are answers in this episode featuring WWU Biology professor and RNA researcher, Dr. Suzanne Lee. Lastly, if you haven’t already, Spark Science would like to encourage you to get any COVID-19 Vaccine available, mRNA or not.

It has been a year since we have talked with Infectious Disease Specialist, Dr. Vijai Bhola. He is now our go-to regular medical doctor to answer our questions about the pandemic one year in.   We discuss the various vaccines, the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic on different populations, and predictions for the future.   One takeaway that Dr. Bhola would like to convey is to “not let your guard down”. We are not out of this pandemic yet so keep those masks on and those interactions outside your home circle limited. Check out https://www.cdc.gov/   Image credit: CDC/ Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM

What is “Mars Time”? Are you excited about machines flying on another planet? Or Martian rock coming back to Earth?   If you are curious about spacecraft on the Red Planet then check out our Season 7 Premiere featuring one of the best communicators in town, NASA Scientist and Western Washington University Geophysicist, Dr. Melissa Rice.   We reference her Op-Ed “A Wright Brothers moment on Mars will expand our cosmic perspective” published in the Seattle Times in this episode. You can check it out here. https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/a-wright-brothers-moment-on-mars-will-expand-our-cosmic-perspective/   Image credit: NASA -- Artist rendition of the helicopter Ingenuity flying next to the Perseverance Rover.

For our Season 6 Finale, we speak with conservationist, storyteller, filmmaker and fellow pop culture enthusiast, Luwi Nguluka. She shares her path from medicine to wildlife activism. Luwi is the co-founder of "Women For Conservation", Zambia's first network for women working on wildlife initiatives and is involved in the “This is not Game” bushmeat campaign which tackles the illegal trade. To learn more about Luwi’s work, check out her TEDx Talk titled What conservation can cook like for an African.

The old adage "A picture is worth a thousand words" explains how photography can create conservation stories accessible across cultures. Our guest for this episode uses beautiful images to help save wetlands around the world. Gab Mejia is a National Geographic Explorer, Nikon Ambassador for Asia, Jackson Wild Media Lab Fellow, and an engineering undergraduate student. Join us for a conversation about his path from hobbyist to international award-winning science communicator.    Check out Gab Mejia's Instagram @gabmeija Image credit: Gab Mejia Location: Mindanao, Philippines

Backyard Botany & Birdsongs - In the first segment WWU student Liz Cunningham interviews a local expert about how a love for gardening can help science spread. The second segment shares how bird and whale song expert Dr. John Bower became an ornithologist at Fairhaven College.

What makes people accept scientific information? This episode is part 2 of our short Sharing Science series where we talk to researchers who study how science is communicated. Our guest is Dr. Reyhaneh Maktoufi a Civic Science Fellow at NOVA and a producer for Story Collider. She is also an artist who uses comics to emphasize the importance of trust and encourage empathy in science communication.

How do we humans interact with scientific information? This episode is part 1 of our short Sharing Science series where we talk to researchers who study how science is communicated. In this episode, our guest is Dr. Sara K. Yeo from the University of Utah. She specializes in Science and Risk communication and most recently has started to study how humor is used to share scientific information on social media.

The year 2019 was hailed the International Year of the Periodic Table. Western Washington University professors staged a reenactment at the Spark Museum featuring the scientists credited with the creation of the Table of Elements in 1869.    Spark Science was lucky enough to get a few of them into the studio late 2019 to talk about why we are celebrating this scientific tool 150 years later.   Thank you to our guests Dr. Serge Smirnov a biochemist, Dr. Tim Kowalczyk a physical chemist, and Dr. Dietmar Schwarz a biologist.

What are clam gardens? Join us on Spark Science’s first research field trip up the coast of Vancouver Island, BC. Dr. Marco Hatch answers this question by showing us a day in the life of a marine ecologist. We learn about clam habitat and how people have been managing these beaches for thousands of years.   Photo of clam garden rock wall located in Fulfod Harbor B.C. courtesy of Dr. Marco Hatch. For more information on his research, go to his website https://wp.wwu.edu/hatchlab/ If you would like to learn more about the garden in the image and other efforts to manage these historical gardens, check out the Clam Garden Network.

For our 100th episode, our first and most frequent guest is back, Dr. Melissa Rice. Days before quarantine, we entertained a live audience at WWU with stories of missions past and details about the future Mars Rover launching this July.   If you would like to learn more about Dr. Rice’s work you can visit https://wp.wwu.edu/mars/ You can follow her on instagram @westernmartians  & Twitter @martian_mel

Who shapes the lives of science students? Here at WWU, two students edited and produced podcasts for their final project in a spring science communication course. They decided to feature the people they admire. This episode features physics major Chase Boggio interviewing WWU physics professor Dr. Takele Seda about his education in Ethiopia. The second segment features engineering student Maria Watters speaking with her mother, a doctoral candidate in Public Health Sciences, about when she ran a free clinic in Nepal.

When you think of winter in the Pacific Northwest, what comes to mind? Snow, rain, darkness? Many people think of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which is why we held and recorded a LIVE show at the start of 2020 to share tips on how to deal with SAD, depression, grief and anxiety. Our guest was the energetic and media-savvy WWU Executive Director for Counseling, Health and Wellness, Dr. Sislena Ledbetter.    For more information about Dr. Ledbetter, you can visit drsis.com Image courtesy of drsis.com

We return to GeekGirlCon, an annual fall convention in Seattle that celebrates the various identities of geekdom, to showcase how curiosity combines with costuming, chemistry, ceramics, and computer-generated reality.   This is our second episode covering 2019 GeekGirlCon. To find out more about the convention and out guest’s amazing work following them on twitter @GeekGirlCon @amyraehill for astro-ceramics & for Torrey’s cosplay @tereshkova2001

What do all of these things have in common? GeekGirlCon. This annual fall convention in Seattle celebrates the various identities of geekdom and in this episode, we showcase how bugs can help kids through adolescents, how easy it is for children to connect science to the everyday world and the fun world of forensics.   This is our first episode covering 2019 GeekGirlCon.   To find out more about The Bug Chicks, Mmmmonsters and/or Geek Girl Con follow them on twitter. @TheBugChicks, @mmm_monsters, @GeekGirlCon

During this global pandemic, do you want to hear directly from a medical doctor who specializes in infectious diseases? We did.   While stuck at home inundated with COVID-19 news, we thought it would be nice to learn from and get to know one of the people on the front lines.    Join us for an interview with Dr. Vijai Bhola where we talk about the history of vaccines, the current response to this outbreak and some positive words to help our anxious minds.   Image credit: CDC/ Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM  

What do the Atomic Bomb and one of the first hands-on science museums have in common? The answer and a whole lot of geeky fun can be found in our interview with Dr. Whitmore. We discuss the language of science, the movie Real Genius, and our favorite Star Trek episode.   To find out more about the Exploratorium check out https://www.exploratorium.edu/  & follow Dr. Whitmore on twitter @DarthScience

How different are people's paths into science and what are students going through right now? Each spring Spark Science host, Dr. Barber DeGraaff, teaches a science communication course where students can create podcasts for a final project. This episode features WWU student Khleo Isaguirre interviewing Biology professor, Dr. Adrienne Wang. This episode also shares WWU student Kassidy Haluska speaking to other College of Science and Engineering majors about their choices.  

What is it like to study and handle the African giant pouched rat? How do these rodents interact with humans? Dr. Danielle Lee returns to Spark Science to answer these questions by sharing an experience that you won’t forget. Dr. Lee was a keynote speaker at the National SACNAS Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii and you can find out more about Dr. Lee’s work by following her on twitter and instagram @DNLee5 and/or watch her TED talks on Finding Landmines Using Giant Pouched Rats & How Hip-Hop Helps us Understand Science.   Image Credit: Laura M. Boykin

What can we do to build confidence and community in Science and Math? What is the mathematical field, combinatorics? Dr. Pamela E. Harris, assistant professor of mathematics at Williams College, answers these questions in our season premiere of Season 6.    Dr. Harris was a keynote speaker at the National SACNAS Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii and we discussed personal journeys and the joys of watching undergraduate students tackle complex problems without fear. To find out more about Dr. Pamela E. Harris check out http://lathisms.org/ & https://www.pamelaeharris.com/

Robots on Mars! This isn’t science fiction or the future; this is now. We are lucky enough to have NASA scientist, Mars rover team member, and extremely talented science communicator Dr. Melissa Rice share her knowledge for our Season 5 finale.    We talk about studying the scientists that operate the rover, the history of robots on Mars and the future of Mars exploration.   A special thanks to Dr. Melissa Rice (the Steve Martin of Spark Science), Janet Vertesi’s book “Seeing like a Rover” and the WWU DMC.   A video of this interview can be viewed at https://www.sparksciencenow.com/videos/

What does it mean to educate? This is the question Dr. Bryan Dewsbury asks everyday. Check out our conversation with this amazing Biologist, Science Communicator, and STEM education scholar as we discuss belonging, sharing science and TV.   To find out more about the film - “Can We Talk? Difficult Conversations with Underrepresented People of Color: Sense of Belonging and Obstacles to STEM Fields” go to https://www.kendallmooredocfilms.com/   Find out more about Dr. Dewsbury’s work at http://www.seasprogram.net/

What if diagrams in biology textbooks were animated and could be viewed from any angle?   Dr. Janet Iwasa, Molecular Animator, TED fellow and Assistant Professor in Biochemistry at the University of Utah, explains how she began creating 3D animations and the impact within current medical research. We are also joined by my friend and past guest Dr. Lina Dalberg, associate professor in Biology at WWU.    I hope you enjoy hearing our attempt to describe visuals with enthusiasm.    To view Dr. Iwasa's animations, visit animationlab.utah.edu  

How does pot affect the brain? We love showcasing interesting research happening at Western Washington University and we get an answer to this question from a WWU neuroscientist who researches how cannabis affects the brain Dr. Josh Kaplan. For more information on Dr. Kaplan’s work go to https://neurokaplan.com/

Are you fascinated by space travel? We are, and so is our guest, Planetary Society’s Chief Advocate, one of the featured experts on Nat Geo’s show MARS and podcast host on Planetary radio, Casey Dreier. This conversation covers the struggles involved in journeys past our atmosphere but also the collaborations created between nations as we strive towards a common goal, exploration.   If you want to learn more about the Planetary Society or  listen to more Casey Dreier visit http://www.planetary.org/about/staff/casey-dreier.html   A big thank you to Casey, a friend of the show and amazing man, for taking time in his busy life to talk about what he is passionate about.   Image credit: Planetary Society

Music is a science! Many of us see this connection. SAMMUS does. She is a rap artist, producer and at the time of this recording finishing her PhD in Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University.    Together we dissect academia (those ivory towers), her path and the music industry. She is now Dr. Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo. We are big fans of everything she has accomplished and excited about everything she will accomplish in the future. To find out more about SAMMUS visit https://sammusmusic.com/ Image credit: Zoolo Brown

Gravitational Waves are ripples in space, distortions in reality as we know it. Learn more about this ground-breaking physics from Corey Gray, Lead Operator at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in Hanford, Washington in this episode. Corey has been featured by NPR -- not only because he was there at the start of LIGO, but also because he is an amazing science communicator. Corey’s mother is also part of an effort to translate LIGO press releases into Blackfoot.   You can follow Corey’s adventures on Twitter @QuantumOfSalsa

Who wants to pet a scorpion? Our guest does. Dr. Lauren Esposito was a keynote speaker at the national SACNAS convention and spoke with us about how she is only one of a dozen scientists who study scorpions, what are some misconceptions about these creatures and also how she is a founding member of 500 Queer Scientists.   Special thanks to SACNAS & Dr. Lauren Esposito who was a delight to interview. She is hilarious.   Follow Dr. Esposito on twitter @ArachnologyNerd and @500QueerSci   Audio from Arachnophobia courtesy of Hollywood Pictures & Amblin Entertainment Photo Credit: Kathy Keatley Garvey

How do you explain science to your family? How has science helped your health or relationships? We talk about this and gut microbes with the amazing Dr. Kat Milligan-Myhre at the SACNAS National Convention in San Antonio. We also had the pleasure of speaking with Minerva Contreras who was presenting her work in neuroscience at the convention and was also a speaker at a live taping of Story Collider.   Follow Dr. Kat, Minerva Contreras & SACNAS on twitter @Napaaqtuk    @minicontreras     @sacnas Check out Ed Yong’s “I Contain Multitudes” Youtube Channel to learn more about the world of microbes.   Image Credit:  Dr. Kat Milligan-Myhre

Science, games, comics, any part of geekdom - Are they strong parts of your identity? If so, you will love this show about the annual Seattle convention, Geek Girl Con. We had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. J. C. Lau about the mission of Geek Girl Con and video game development. We also met Dr. Adriana Ferez in the DIY Science Zone who shared the story of Chaos Theory with us.   Big Thank You to Geek Girl Con, who we invite every year to join in the fun.   Jurassic Park clip courtesy of Universal Pictures & Amblin Entertainment   To find out more about Dr. Lau and/or Geek Girl Con follow them on twitter. @GeekGirlCon @drjclau

Did you know rats in Tanzania are saving lives by detecting landmines and tuberculosis? Our guest Dr. Danielle N. Lee shares with us her work with giant pouched rats and her work on decolonizing STEM. This is our first interview at the 2018 GeekGirlCon.   Check out the rest of Dr. Lee’s TED talk featured in this episode by clicking on the link.   Twitter: @DNLee5 & @GeekGirlCon Photo: Ryan Lash/TED

What is the most common or dangerous geologic hazard in your region? Can you name the nearest Volcano to Bellingham, WA? We enlist the help of WWU’s own Dr. Jackie Caplan-Auerbach and students on campus to answers these questions. We also talk about Dr. Caplan-Auerbach’s research on underwater volcanoes which involved the recent eruptions in Hawaii. Don’t worry, we still bring up some pop culture, which includes commentary on the 1997 movie Dante’s Peak).   Photo of Shishaldin Volcano by Pete Stelling

What is it like to be entrusted with running a university while being originally trained as an engineer? Check out our 4th Season Finale where we interview WWU President Sabah Randhawa.   We discuss science's origins related to the leisure class, parking optimization and how training in science, technology, engineering or math can lead to problem-solving in other parts of life.   Video of this interview coming soon but in the meantime, check out this wonderful clip, referred to in our interview, of President Randhawa explaining cricket.

Is there one clear path to take to med school? WWU biology major, Nicole DeRaimo interviewed two other WWU students about their path and plan to go to medical school.  Nicole created this podcast in Science Communication 497 taught by Spark Science Host Dr. Barber DeGraaff. Each student has opinions of what kept them on the path and what changed their plans.   Image Credit: Michigan Medicine

How can we watch an action and instantly know how to do it? What about 'Empathy' in humans? What kind of research is happening on the Western Washington University campus? Listen to this episode to find out.    Outstanding Behavioral Neuroscience (BNS) graduate, Anna Marie Yanny, interviews BNS chair Dr. Jantzen for WWU Science Communication course. Another student in the class, Lilah Nay, then interviews Anna Marie Yanny about the research undergraduate BNS students are performing at WWU.   Lilah Nay also interviews WWU graduate students and faculty to show what kind of research happens on campus.   The material for this episode was created in a science communication course taught by Spark Science host, Dr. Barber DeGraaff, to help undergraduate science students gain skills in effectively sharing their work with the public and other fields.   Image Credit: Medium.com

Immunology, Tay Sachs, vaccines and the feeling of intimidation when interviewing a person who has won a Nobel prize are the topics of this episode. Dr. Beutler, who was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with another researcher, came to Bellingham, WA in 2018 and I have a few minutes to have a discussion with him. I also enlisted the help from Spark Science veterans and WWU scientists Dr. Jackie Rose and Dr. Dahlberg to answer some of the questions I had about biology terminology and analysis of Dr. Brutler's answers. A big THANK YOU to WWU Chemistry for fitting Spark Science in Dr. Beutler's schedule. Make sure to check out Dr. Rose and Dr. Dahlberg back in Season 1.

Student correspondent, Andra Nordin, attended the 2018 Geohazards Symposium and spent many hours putting this show together. She spoke to scientists about a range of natural disasters and how to prepare for these events.   Please enjoy.

In this episode, we share the work being done by Dr. Tim Kowalczyk at Western Washington University (WWU) in relation to Solar Thermal Fuels.  We break down what this term actually means. We also go back in time and discuss Dr. Kowalcyzk's unconventional path to physical chemistry.   Here is a short clip produced by WWU we refer to at the beginning of the interview.   Music was created by Dr. Tim Kowalczyk (video game music discussed in the interview) Image credit: MCEC  

This episode turns the table on the Spark Science interview process. WWU Women in Physics students Grace Eliason and Megan McAndie interview their WWU Physics professors, Dr. Kristen Larson & host Dr. Regina Barber DeGraaff.     We talked about family life, paths to physics, being yourself in physics courses, historic women in STEM and what our experiences are as a woman in the physics department at WWU.   Please enjoy this fun and personal episode.   Image credit: Women in Physics - Jessica Reyna  

In the second episode featuring LPSC, Natalie talks to Chris Klein a planetary geochemist about Titan and Thomas Humphry Prettyman about using nuclear physics to understand the asteroid Ceres. We also revisit the question "what are biosignatures?" Spark Science Student Correspondent & Chief Audio Engineer, Natalie Moore, traveled to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) this Spring to present research. 

Spark Science Student Correspondent & Chief Audio Engineer, Natalie Moore, traveled to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) this Spring to present research.  In the first episode featuring LPSC, Natalie talks to Geologist & Astrobiologist Martin Van Kranendonk about hot springs on other planets and how important the drying/wetting cycle is to "life". Natalie asks "when we will know for sure if life exists or did exist off Earth?" They then try to answer the question "what are biosignatures?" Enjoy the show.   Image Credit: Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2018

This episode features Chemist Dr. Greg O'Neil from Western Washington University. We also have our co-host Jordan Baker back in the KMRE studios. Dr. O'Neil talks about his lab where he creates biodiesel and jet fuel from algae. We discuss scientific conventions dedicated to fuel and the interesting commercial products you can create from the biofuel waste. Image Credit: Tom Kleindinst - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

This episode features another keynote speaker at the 2017 SACNAS National Convention, Dr. Yajaira Sierra Sastre. Dr. Sierra Sastre is a material scientist currently working at the US National Treasury and was selected for the first Mars analog mission funded by NASA. We have a great conversation about dreams, nanotechnology and living on Mars. Listen to find out why I apologize in advance to my friends named Debbie. Please enjoy. This interview was recorded on location in Salk Lake City, Utah in October 2017

This episode features an interview with Dr. Iwasa from University of Utah School of Medicine. She specializes in data visualization using Hollywood and video game techniques to create animations of systems of molecules. We recorded on location in a restaurant in Salt Lake City. We apologize for the sound quality. Image Credit: TED

This episode features the first of our interviews from our annual SACNAS National Convention show. This conference is the largest gathering of scientists of color in the nation and we had the honor of interviewing keynote speakers. Today's speaker is Dr. Rosalyn LaPier who is an award-winning writer studying the environmental and religious history of indigenous plants. The conversation veered from her background in physics, what are the stereotypes when it comes to indigenous scientists and ended with a great tip for all foodies. Please enjoy. This interview was recorded on location in Salk Lake City, Utah in October 2017

This episode features work at WWU to create homes sustainably on a smaller scale. We talk with Dr. Imran Sheikh and Kellen Lynch from Project ZeNETH (Zero Net Energy Tiny House) about environmental science, who is really a "scientist" and the need/audience for tiny homes.     This episode was co-produced and edited by WWU student Andra Nordin

Friday, September 15th, 2017, Spark Science and the Planetary Society held a public wake at the Shakedown in Bellingham, WA, to celebrate the life of the Cassini Mission -- a 19-year space mission to study Saturn and its many moons.   This episode features the eulogies read by Planetary Society’s Director of Space Policy Casey Dreier, NASA scientist Melissa Rice, Author George Dyson and music by Scary Monster and the Super Creeps.   Enjoy the ride.     Image credit: NASA Check out pictures of the wake on our Instagram page @sparkscience & Twitter @sparksciencenow    

In this episode, we talk with award-winning author Ken Liu.  His short story, "The Paper Menagerie", recently read by Levar Burton, is the only story to win the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards.  We talk about how this moving tale has touched so many people and also learned more about how Liu’s work weaves science into wonderful storytelling.   We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we enjoyed having it.     Image Credit:© Lisa Tang Liu

Attending Geek Girl Con is now a tradition for Spark Science.   This time we are featuring famed science communicator and creator of the DIY Zone (at Geek Girl Con) Dr. Raychelle Burks. We also had the pleasure of speaking with awesome astronomer Dr. Nicole Gugliucci (also known as twitter's @noiseyastronomer), the Bug Chicks, SciFi writer Astrid Amara and more.   We hope you enjoy listening to these amazing women.