Podcasts about imperial college

My conversation with Matt Kaplan starts at minutes 31 mins in to today's show after headlines and clips Subscribe and Watch Interviews LIVE : On YOUTUBE.com/StandUpWithPete ON SubstackStandUpWithPete Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. This show is Ad free and fully supported by listeners like you! Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 750 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls I Told You So!: Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled, and Imprisoned for Being Right Matt Kaplan is a science correspondent at The Economist where he has written about everything from paleontology and parasites to virology and viticulture over the course of two decades. His writing has also appeared in National Geographic, New Scientist, Nature, and The New York Times. He is the author of The Science of Monsters and Science of the Magical, and co-author of David Attenborough's First Life: A Journey Through Time. He completed a thesis in Paleontology at Berkeley, and one in science journalism at Imperial College, London. In 2014 he was awarded a Knight Fellowship to study at MIT and Harvard. Born in California, he lives in England. Pete on Blue Sky Pete on Threads Pete on Tik Tok Pete on YouTube  Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page  

Matt Kaplan is a science correspondent at the Economist and author of the new book I Told You So!: Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled, and Imprisoned for Being Right in which he shares the stories of researchers—from Darwin to Pasteur to modern Nobel Prize winners—who had to fight for their revolutionary ideas to be accepted. "But Paul…” you might say. "This sounds very interesting, but how does it fit into the conversations here on Reasonably Happy?” Good question! It's because I like contrarians and truth-seekers. I worry about prevailing power structures or narratives that restrict innovation, progress, free markets, and personal liberty, whether those obstacles be bureaucracy, fascism, religion, or political correctness. And perhaps by pondering these historical examples, we'll be less likely to repeat past mistakes. Over the last two decades, Matt has written about everything from paleontology and parasites to virology and viticulture. In addition to the Economist, his writing has appeared in National Geographic,  Nature, and the New York Times. He completed a thesis in Paleontology at Berkeley, and one in science journalism at Imperial College, London. In 2014 he was awarded a Knight Fellowship to study at MIT and Harvard. Born in California, he lives in England.    Please ⁠rate and review⁠ ⁠⁠Reasonably Happy⁠ ⁠HERE⁠⁠  (DO IT!)    Read ⁠Paul's ⁠⁠Substack newsletter⁠⁠⁠ ⁠HERE⁠  Buy Matt's book, I Told You So! here. 

A baby boy has become the first to be born in the UK to a mother with a womb transplant from a deceased donor. Grace Bell, who is in her 30s, delivered her baby boy, Hugo, in December. Clare McDonnell is joined by transplant surgeon Isabel Quiroga who completed the transplant in collaboration with Professor Richard Smith and colleagues at Oxford University Hospital and Imperial College, London, and established the first uterus transplant programme in the UK.Today is the day Season 2 of the TV series We Might Regret This is released. Its creator and star, Kyla Harris, discusses how she has drawn on her experiences as a disabled person to create this funny and unflinching look at life with disability. The first results from the University of Exeter's Women in Farming health and wellbeing study are in, and they paint a concerning picture of the wellbeing of women in farming across the UK.Alev Scott's latest book, Cash Cow, investigates the global fertility industry, exploring how much the female body is being commodified, and its impact on women across the world. Who should make money from the maternal body - only the women themselves, anyone or no one? Going undercover, she explores the breast milk black market, the trade in harvesting eggs, and the women who are surrogates for others. Presenter: Clare McDonnell Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Editor's note: CuspAI raised a $100m Series A in September and is rumored to have reached a unicorn valuation. They have all-star advisors from Geoff Hinton to Yann Lecun and team of deep domain experts to tackle this next frontier in AI applications.In this episode, Max Welling traces the thread connecting quantum gravity, equivariant neural networks, diffusion models, and climate-focused materials discovery (yes, there is one!!!).We begin with a provocative framing: experiments as computation. Welling describes the idea of a “physics processing unit”—a world in which digital models and physical experiments work together, with nature itself acting as a kind of processor. It's a grounded but ambitious vision of AI for science: not replacing chemists, but accelerating them.Along the way, we discuss:* Why symmetry and equivariance matter in deep learning* The tradeoff between scale and inductive bias* The deep mathematical links between diffusion models and stochastic thermodynamics* Why materials—not software—may be the real bottleneck for AI and the energy transition* What it actually takes to build an AI-driven materials platformMax reflects on moving from curiosity-driven theoretical physics (including work with Gerard ‘t Hooft) toward impact-driven research in climate and energy. The result is a conversation about convergence: physics and machine learning, digital models and laboratory experiments, long-term ambition and incremental progress.Full Video EpisodeTimestamps* 00:00:00 – The Physics Processing Unit (PPU): Nature as the Ultimate Computer* Max introduces the idea of a Physics Processing Unit — using real-world experiments as computation.* 00:00:44 – From Quantum Gravity to AI for Materials* Brandon frames Max's career arc: VAE pioneer → equivariant GNNs → materials startup founder.* 00:01:34 – Curiosity vs Impact: How His Motivation Evolved* Max explains the shift from pure theoretical curiosity to climate-driven impact.* 00:02:43 – Why CaspAI Exists: Technology as Climate Strategy* Politics struggles; technology scales. Why materials innovation became the focus.* 00:03:39 – The Thread: Physics → Symmetry → Machine Learning* How gauge symmetry, group theory, and relativity informed equivariant neural networks.* 00:06:52 – AI for Science Is Exploding (Not Emerging)* The funding surge and why AI-for-Science feels like a new industrial era.* 00:07:53 – Why Now? The Two Catalysts Behind AI for Science* Protein folding, ML force fields, and the tipping point moment.* 00:10:12 – How Engineers Can Enter AI for Science* Practical pathways: curriculum, workshops, cross-disciplinary training.* 00:11:28 – Why Materials Matter More Than Software* The argument that everything—LLMs included—rests on materials innovation.* 00:13:02 – Materials as a Search Engine* The vision: automated exploration of chemical space like querying Google.* 01:14:48 – Inside CuspAI: The Platform Architecture* Generative models + multi-scale digital twin + experiment loop.* 00:21:17 – Automating Chemistry: Human-in-the-Loop First* Start manual → modular tools → agents → increasing autonomy.* 00:25:04 – Moonshots vs Incremental Wins* Balancing lighthouse materials with paid partnerships.* 00:26:22 – Why Breakthroughs Will Still Require Humans* Automation is vertical-specific and iterative.* 00:29:01 – What Is Equivariance (In Plain English)?* Symmetry in neural networks explained with the bottle example.* 00:30:01 – Why Not Just Use Data Augmentation?* The optimization trade-off between inductive bias and data scale.* 00:31:55 – Generative AI Meets Stochastic Thermodynamics* His upcoming book and the unification of diffusion models and physics.* 00:33:44 – When the Book Drops (ICLR?)TranscriptMax: I want to think of it as what I would call a physics processing unit, like a PPU, right? Which is you have digital processing units and then you have physics processing units. So it's basically nature doing computations for you. It's the fastest computer known, as possible even. It's a bit hard to program because you have to do all these experiments. Those are quite bulky, it's like a very large thing you have to do. But in a way it is a computation and that's the way I want to see it. You can do computations in a data center and then you can ask nature to do some computations. Your interface with nature is a bit more complicated. But then these things will have to seamlessly work together to get to a new material that you're interested in.[01:00:44:14 - 01:01:34:08]Brandon: Yeah, it's a pleasure to have Max Woehling as a guest today. Max has done so much over his career that I've been so excited about. If you're in the deep learning community, you probably know Max for his work on variational autocoders, which has literally stood the test of prime or officially stood the test of prime. If you are a scientist, you probably know him for his like, binary work on graph neural networks on equivariance. And if you're a material science, you probably know him about his new startup, CASPAI. Max has a long history doing lots of cool problems. You started in quantum gravity, which is I think very different than all of these other things you worked on. The first question for AI engineers and for scientists, what is the thread in how you think about problems? What is the thread in the type of things which excite you? And how do you decide what is the next big thing you want to work on?[01:01:34:08 - 01:02:41:13]Max: So it has actually evolved a lot. In my young days, let's breathe, I would just follow what I would find super interesting. I have kind of this sensor. I think many people have, but maybe not really sort of use very much, which is like, you get this feeling about getting very excited about some problem. Like it could be, what's inside of a black hole or what's at the boundary of the universe or what are quantum mechanics actually all about. And so I follow that basically throughout my career. But I have to say that as you get older, this changes a little bit in the sense that there's a new dimension coming to it and there's this impact. Going in two-dimensional quantum gravity, you pretty much guaranteed there's going to be no impact on what you do relative, maybe a few papers, but not in this world, this energy scale. As I get closer to retirement, which is fortunately still 10 years away or so, I do want to kind of make a positive impact in the world. And I got pretty worried about climate change.[01:02:43:15 - 01:03:19:11]Max: I think politics seems to have a hard time solving it, especially these days. And so I thought better work on it from the technology side. And that's why we started CaspAI. But there's also a lot of really interesting science problems in material science. And so it's kind of combining both the impact you can make with it as well as the interesting science. So it's sort of these two dimensions, like working on things which you feel there's like, well, there's something very deep going on here. And on the other hand, trying to build tools that can actually make a real impact in the world.[01:03:19:11 - 01:03:39:23]RJ: So the thread that when I look back, look at the different things that you worked out, some of them seem pretty connected, like the physics to equivariance and, yeah, and, uh, gravitational networks, maybe. And that seems to be somewhat related to Casp. Do you have a thread through there?[01:03:39:23 - 01:06:52:16]Max: Yeah. So physics is the thread. So having done, you know, spent a lot of time in theoretical physics, I think there is first very fundamental and exciting questions, like things that haven't actually been figured out in quantum gravity. So that is really the frontier. There's also a lot of mathematical tools that you can use, right? In, for instance, in particle physics, but also in general relativity, sort of symmetry space to play an enormously important role. And this goes all the way to gauge symmetries as well. And so applying these kinds of symmetries to, uh, machine learning was actually, you know, I thought of it as a very deep and interesting mathematical problem. I did this with Taco Cohen and Taco was the main driver behind this, went all the way from just simple, like rotational symmetries all the way to gauge symmetries on spheres and stuff like that. So, and, uh, Maurice Weiler, who's also here, um, when he was a PhD student, he was a very good student with me, you know, he wrote an entire book, which I can really recommend about the role of symmetries in AI and machine learning. So I find this a very deep and interesting problem. So more recently, so I've taken a sort of different path, which is the relationship between diffusion models and that field called stochastic thermodynamics. This is basically the thermodynamics, which is a theory of equilibrium. So but then formulated for out of equilibrium systems. And it turns out that the mathematics that we use for diffusion models, but even for reinforcement learning for Schrodinger bridges for MCMC sampling has the same mathematics as this theoretical, this physical theory of non-equilibrium systems. And that got me very excited. And actually, uh, when I taught a course in, um, Mauschenberg, uh, it is South Africa, close to Cape Town at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Ames. And I turned that into a book site. Two years later, the book was finished. I've sent it to the publisher. And this is about the deep relationship between free energy, diffusion models, basically generative AI and stochastic thermodynamics. So it's always some kind of, I don't know, I find physics very deep. I also think a lot about quantum mechanics and it's, it's, it's a completely weird theory that actually nobody really understands. And there's a very interesting story, which is maybe good to tell to connect sort of my PZ back to where I'm now. So I did my PZ with a Nobel Laureate, Gerard the toft. He says the most brilliant man I've ever met. He was never wrong about anything as long as I've seen him. And now he says quantum mechanics is wrong and he has a new theory of quantum mechanics. Nobody understands what he's saying, even though what he's writing down is not mathematically very complex, but he's trying to address this understandability, let's say of quantum mechanics head on. And I find it very courageous and I'm completely fascinated by it. So I'm also trying to think about, okay, can I actually understand quantum mechanics in a more mundane way? So that, you know, without all the weird multiverses and collapses and stuff like that. So the physics is always been the threat and I'm trying to apply the physics to the machine learning to build better algorithms.[01:06:52:16 - 01:07:05:15]Brandon: You are still very involved in understanding and understanding physics and the worlds. Yeah. And just like applications to machine learning or introducing no formalisms. That's really cool.[01:07:05:15 - 01:07:18:02]Max: Yes, I would say I'm not contributing much to physics, but I'm contributing to the interface between physics and science. And that's called AI for science or science or AI is kind of a super, it's actually a new discipline that's emerging.[01:07:18:02 - 01:07:18:19]Speaker 5: Yeah.[01:07:18:19 - 01:07:45:14]Max: And it's not just emerging, it's exploding, I would say. That's the better term because I know you go from investments into like in the hundreds of millions now in the billions. So there's now actually a startup by Jeff Bezos that is at 6.2 billion sheep round. Right. Insane. I guess it's the largest startup ever, I think. And that's in this field, AI for science. It tells you something that we are creating a new bubble here.[01:07:46:15 - 01:07:53:28]Brandon: So why do you think it is? What has changed that has motivated people to start working on AI for science type problems?[01:07:53:28 - 01:08:49:17]Max: So there's two reasons actually. One is that people have been applying sort of the new tools from AI to the sciences, which is quite natural. And there's of course, I think there's two big examples, protein folding is a big one. And the other one is machine learning forest fields or something called machine learning inter-atomic potentials. Both of them have been actually very successful. Both also had something to do with symmetries, which is a little cool. And sort of people in the AI sciences saw an opportunity to apply the tools that they had developed beyond advertised placement, right, or multimedia applications into something that could actually make a very positive impact in society like health, drug development, materials for the energy transition, carbon capture. These are all really cool, impactful applications.[01:08:50:19 - 01:09:42:14]Max: Despite that, the science and the kind of the is also very interesting. I would say the fact that these sort of these two fields are coming together and that we're now at the point that we can actually model these things effectively and move the needle on some of these sort of science sort of methodologies is also a very unique moment, I would say. People recognize that, okay, now we're at the cusp of something new, where it results whether the company is called after. We're at the cusp of something new. And of course that always creates a lot of energy. It's like, okay, there's something, it's like sort of virgin field. It's like nobody's green field. Nobody's been there. I can rush in and I can sort of start harvesting there, right? And I think that's also what's causing a lot of sort of enthusiasm in the fields.[01:09:42:14 - 01:10:12:18]RJ: If you're an AI engineer, basically if the people that listen to this podcast will be in the field, then you maybe don't have a strong science background. How does, but are excited. Most I would say most AI practitioners, BM engineers or scientists would consider themselves scientists and they have some background, a little bit of physics, a little bit of industry college, maybe even graduate school that have been working or are starting out. How does somebody who is not a scientist on a day-to-day basis, how do they get involved?[01:10:12:18 - 01:10:14:28]Max: Well, they can read my book once it's out.[01:10:16:07 - 01:11:05:24]Max: This is basically saying that there is more, we should create curricula that are on this interface. So I'm not sure there is, also we already have some universities actual courses you can take, maybe online courses you can take. These workshops where we are now are actually very good as well. And we should probably have more tutorials before the workshop starts. Actually we've, I've kind of proposed this at some point. It's like maybe first have an hour of a tutorial so that people can get new into the field. There's a lot out there. Most of it is of course inaccessible, but I would say we will create much more books and other contents that is more accessible, including this podcast I would say. So I think it will come. And these days you can watch videos and things. There's a huge amount of content you can go and see.[01:11:05:24 - 01:11:28:28]Brandon: So maybe a follow-up to that. How do people learn and get involved? But why should they get involved? I mean, we have a lot of people who are of our audience will be interested in AI engineering, but they may be looking for bigger impacts in the world. What opportunities does AI for science provide them to make an impact to change the world? That working in this the world of pure bits would not.[01:11:28:28 - 01:11:40:06]Max: So my view is that underlying almost everything is immaterial. So we are focusing a lot on LLMs now, which is kind of the software layer.[01:11:41:06 - 01:11:56:05]Max: I would say if you think very hard, underlying everything is immaterial. So underlying an LLM is a GPU, and underlying a GPU is a wafer on which we will have to deposit materials. Do we want to wait a little bit?[01:12:02:25 - 01:12:11:06]Max: Underlying everything is immaterial. So I was saying, you know, there's the LLM underlying the LLM is a GPU on which it runs. In order to make that GPU,[01:12:12:08 - 01:12:43:20]Max: you have to put materials down on a wafer and sort of shine on it with sort of EUV light in order to etch kind of the structures in. But that's now an actual material problem, because more or less we've reached the limits of scaling things down. And now we are trying to improve further by new materials. So that's a fundamental materials problem. We need to get through the energy transition fast if we don't want to kind of mess up this world. And so there is, for instance, batteries. That's a complete materials problem. There's fuel cells.[01:12:44:23 - 01:13:01:16]Max: There is solar panels. So that they can now make solar panels with new perovskite layers on top of the silicon layers that can capture, you know, theoretically up to 50% of the light, where now we're at, I don't know, maybe 22 or something. So these are huge changes all by material innovation.[01:13:02:21 - 01:13:47:15]Max: And yeah, I think wherever you go, you know, I can probably dig deep enough and then tell you, well, actually, the very foundation of what you're doing is a material problem. And so I think it's just very nice to work on this very, very foundation. And also because I think this is maybe also something that's happening now is we can start to search through this material space. This has never been the case, right? It's like scientists, the normal way of working is you read papers and then you come up with no hypothesis. You do an experiment and you learn, et cetera. So that's a very slow process. Now we can treat this as a search engine. Like we search the internet, we now search the space of all possible molecules, not just the ones that people have made or that they're in the universe, but all of them.[01:13:48:21 - 01:14:42:01]Max: And we can make this kind of fully automated. That's the hope, right? We can just type, it becomes a tool where you type what you want and something starts spinning and some experiments get going. And then, you know, outcome list of materials and then you look at it and say, maybe not. And then you refine your query a little bit. And you kind of do research with this search engine where a huge amount of computation and experimentation is happening, you know, somewhere far away in some lab or some data center or something like this. I find this a very, very promising view of how we can sort of build a much better sort of materials layer underneath almost everything. And also more sustainable materials. Our plastics are polluting the planet. If you come up with a plastic that kind of destroys itself, you know, after, I don't a few weeks, right? And actually becomes a fertilizer. These are things that are not impossible at all. These things can be done, right? And we should do it.[01:14:42:01 - 01:14:47:23]RJ: Can you tell us a little bit just generally about CUSBI and then I have a ton of questions.[01:14:47:23 - 01:14:48:15]Speaker 5: Yeah.[01:14:48:15 - 01:17:49:10]Max: So CUSBI started about 20 months ago and it was because I was worried about I'm still worried about climate change. And so I realized that in order to get, you know, to stay within two degrees, let's say, we would not only have to reduce our emissions to zero by 2050, but then, you know, another half century or even a century of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, not by reducing your emissions, but actually removing it at a rate that's about half the rate that we now emit it. And that is a unsolved problem. But if we don't solve it, two degrees is not going to happen, right? It's going to be much more. And I don't think people quite understand how bad that can be, like four degrees, like very bad. So this technology needs to be developed. And so this was my and my co-founder, Chet Edwards, motivation to start this startup. And also because, you know, we saw the technology was ready, which is also very good. So if you're, you know, the time is right to do it. And yeah, so we now in the meanwhile, we've grown to about 40 people. We've kind of collected 130 million investment into the company, which is for a European company is quite a lot. I would say it's interesting that right after that, you know, other startups got even more. So that's kind of tells you how fast this is growing. But yeah, we are we are now at the we've built the platform, of course, but it's for a series of material classes and it needs to be constantly expanded to new material classes. And it can be more automated because, you know, we know putting LLMs in as the whole thing gets more and more automated. And now we're moving to sort of high throughput experimentation. So connecting the actual platform, which is computational, to the experiments so that you can get also get fast feedback from experiments. And I kind of think of experiments as something you do at the end, although that's what we've been doing so far. I want to think of it as what I would call a sort of a physics processing unit, like a PPU, right, which is you have digital processing units and then you have physics processing units. So it's basically nature doing computations for you. It's the fastest computer known as possible, even. It's a bit hard to program because you have to do all these experiments. Those are quite, quite bulky. It's like a very large thing you have to do. But in a way, it is a computation. And that's the way I want to see it. So I want to you can do computations in a data center and then you can ask nature to do some computations. Your interface with nature is a bit more complicated. But then these things will have to seamlessly work together to get to a new material that you're interested in. And that's the vision we have. We don't say super intelligence because I don't quite know what it means and I don't want to oversell it. But I do want to automate this process and give a very powerful tool in the hands of the chemists and the material scientists.[01:17:49:10 - 01:18:01:02]Brandon: That actually brings up a question I wanted to ask you. First of all, can you talk about your platform to like whatever degree, like explain kind of how it works and like what you your thought processes was in developing it?[01:18:01:02 - 01:20:47:22]Max: Yeah, I think it's been surprisingly, it's not rocket science, I would say. It's not rocket science in the sense of the design and basically the design that, you know, I wrote down at the very beginning. It's still more or less the design, although you add things like I wasn't thinking very much about multi-scale models and as the common are rated that actually multi-scale is very important. And the beginning, I wasn't thinking very much about self-driving labs. But now I think, you know, we are now at the stage we should be adding that. And so there is sort of bits and details that we're adding. But more or less, it's what you see in the slide decks here as well, which is there is a generative component that you have to train to generate candidates. And then there is a digital twin, multi-scale, multi-fidelity digital twin, which you walk through the steps of the ladder, you know, they do the cheap things first, you weed out everything that's obviously unuseful, and then you go to more and more expensive things later. And so you narrow things down to a small number. Those go into an experiment, you know, do the experiment, get feedback, etc. Now, things that also have been more recently added is sort of more agentic sort of parts. You know, we have agents that search the literature and come up with, you know, actually the chemical literature and come up with, you know, chemical suggestions for doing experiments. We have agents which sort of autonomously orchestrate all of the computations and the experiments that need to be done. You know, they're in various stages of maturity and they can be continuously improved, I would say. And so that's basically I don't think that part. There's rocket science, but, you know, the design of that thing is not like surprising. What is it's surprising hard to actually build it. Right. So that's that's the thing that is where the moat is in the data that you can get your hands on and the and actually building the platform. And I would say there's two people in particular I want to call out, which is Felix Hunker, who is actually, you know, building the scientific part of the platform and Sandra de Maria, who is building the sort of the skate that is kind of this the MLOps part of the platform. Yeah. And so and recently we also added sort of Aaron Walsh to our team, who is a very accomplished scientist from Imperial College. We're very happy about that. He's going to be a chief science officer. And we also have a partnerships team that sort of seeks out all the customers because I think this is one thing I find very important. In print, it's so complex to do to actually bring a material to the real world that you must do this, you know, in collaboration with sort of the domain experts, which are the companies typically. So we always we only start to invest in the direction if we find a good industrial partner to go on that journey with us.[01:20:47:22 - 01:20:55:12]Brandon: Makes a lot of sense. Over the evolution of the platform, did you find that you that human intervention, human,[01:20:56:18 - 01:21:17:01]Brandon: I guess you could start out with a pure, you could imagine two directions when you start up making everything purely automatic, automated, agentic, so on. And then later on, you like find that you need to have more human input and feedback different steps. Or maybe did you start out with having human feedback? You have lots of steps and then like kind of, yeah, figure out ways to remove, you know,[01:21:17:01 - 01:22:39:18]Max: that is the second one. So you build tools for you. So it's much more modular than you think. But it's like, we need these tools for this application. We need these tools. So you build all these tools, and then you go through a workflow actually in the beginning just manually. So you put them in a first this tool, then run this to them or this with sithery. So you put them in a workflow and then you figure out, oh, actually, you know, this this porous material that we are trying to make actually collapses if you shake it a bit. Okay, then you add a new tool that says test for stability. Right. Yeah. And so there's more and more tools. And then you build the agent, which could be a Bayesian optimizer, or it could be an actual other them, you know, maybe trained to be a good chemist that will then start to use all these tools in the right way in the right order. Yeah. Right. But in the beginning, it's like you as a chemist are putting the workflow together. And then you think about, okay, how am I going to automate this? Right. For one very easy question you can ask yourself is, you know, every time somebody who is not a super expert in DFT, yeah, and he wants to do a calculation has to go to somebody who knows DFT. And so could you start to automate that away, which is like, okay, make it so user friendly, so that you actually do the right DFT for the right problem and for the right length of time, and you can actually assess whether it's a good outcome, etc. So you start to automate smaller small pieces and bigger pieces, etc. And in the end, the whole thing is automated.[01:22:39:18 - 01:22:53:25]Brandon: So your philosophy is you want to provide a set of specific tools that make it so that the scientists making decisions are better informed and less so trying to create an automated process.[01:22:53:25 - 01:23:22:01]Max: I think it's this is sort of the same where you're saying because, yes, we want to automate, yeah, but we don't see something very soon where the chemists and the domain expert is out of the loop. Yeah, but it but it's a retreat, right? It's like, okay, so first, you need an expert to tell you precisely how to set the parameters of the DFT calculation. Okay, maybe we can take that out. We can maybe automate that, right? And so increasingly, more of these things are going to be removed.[01:23:22:01 - 01:23:22:19]Speaker 5: Yeah.[01:23:22:19 - 01:24:33:25]Max: In the end, the vision is it will be a search engine where you where somebody, a chemist will type things and we'll get candidates, but the chemist will still decide what is a good material and what is not a good material out of that list, right? And so the vision of a completely dark lab, where you can close the door and you just say, just, you know, find something interesting and then it will it will just figure out what's interesting and we'll figure out, you know, it's like, oh, I found this new material to blah, blah, blah, blah, right? That's not the vision I have. He's not for, you know, a long time. So for me, it's really empowering the domain experts that are sitting in the companies and in universities to be much faster in developing their materials. And I should say, it's also good to be a little humble at times, because it is very complicated, you know, to bring it to make it and to bring it into the real world. And there are people that are doing this for the entire lives. Yeah. Right. And it's like, I wonder if they scratch their head and say, well, you know, how are you going to completely automate that away, like in the next five years? I don't think that's going to happen at all.[01:24:35:01 - 01:24:39:24]Max: Yeah. So to me, it's an increasingly powerful tool in the hands of the chemists.[01:24:39:24 - 01:25:04:02]RJ: I have a question. You've talked before about getting people interested based on having, you know, sort of a big breakthrough in materials, incremental change. I'm curious what you think about the platform you have now in are sort of stepping towards and how are you chasing the big change or is this like incremental or is there they're not mutually exclusive, obviously, but what do you think about that?[01:25:04:02 - 01:26:04:27]Max: We follow a mixed strategy. So we are definitely going after a big material. Again, we do this with a partner. I'm not going to disclose precisely what it is, but we have our own kind of long term goal. You could call it lighthouse or, you know, sort of moonshot or whatever, but it is going to be a really impactful material that we want to develop as a proof point that it can be done and that it will make it into the into the real world and that AI was essential in actually making it happen. At the same time, we also are quite happy to work with companies that have more modest goals. Like I would say one is a very deep partnership where you go on a journey with a company and that's a long term commitment together. And the other one is like somebody says, I knew I need a force field. Can you help me train this force field and then maybe analyze this particular problem for me? And I'll pay you a bunch of money for that. And then maybe after that we'll see. And that's fine too. Right. But we prefer, you know, the deep partnerships where we can really change something for the good.[01:26:04:27 - 01:26:22:02]RJ: Yeah. And do you feel like from a platform standpoint you're ready for that or what are the things that and again, not asking you to disclose proprietary secret sauce, but what are the things generally speaking that need to happen from where we are to where to get those big breakthroughs?[01:26:22:02 - 01:28:40:01]Max: What I find interesting about this field is that every time you build something, it's actually immediately useful. Right. And so unlike quantum computing, which or nuclear fusion, so you work for 20, 30, 40 years and nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. And then it has to happen. Right. And when it happens, it's huge. So it's quite different here because every time you introduce, so you go to a customer and you say, so what do you need? Right. So we work, let's say, on a problem like a water filtration. We want to remove PFAS from water. Right. So we do this with a company, Camira. So they are a deep partner for us. Right. So we on a journey together. I think that the breakthrough will happen with a lot of human in the loop because there is the chemists who have a whole lot more knowledge of their field and it's us who will help them with training, having a new message. And in that kind of interface, these interactions, something beautiful will happen and that will have to happen first before this field will really take off, I think. And so in the sense that it's not a bubble, let's put it that way. So that's people see that as actual real what's happening. So in the beginning, it will be very, you know, with a lot of humans in the loop, I would say, and I would I would hope we will have this new sort of breakthrough material before, you know, everything is completely automated because that will take a while. And also it is very vertical specific. So it's like completely automating something for problem A, you know, you can probably achieve it, but then you'll sort of have to start over again for problem B because, you know, your experimental setup looks very different in the machines that you characterize your materials look very different. Even the models in your platform will have to be retrained and fine tuned to the new class. So every time, you know, you have a lot of learnings to transfer, but also, you know, the problems are actually different. And so, yes, I would want that breakthrough material before it's completely automated, which I think is kind of a long term vision. And I would say every time you move to something new, you'll have to start retraining and humans will have to come in again and say, okay, so what does this problem look like? And now sort of, you know, point the the machine again, you know, in the new direction and then and then use it again.[01:28:40:01 - 01:28:47:17]RJ: For the non-scientists among us, me included a bit of a scientist. There's a lot of terminology. You mentioned DFT,[01:28:49:00 - 01:29:01:11]RJ: you equivariance we've talked about. Can you sort of explain in engineering terms or the level of sophistication and engineering? Well, how what is equivariance?[01:29:01:11 - 01:29:55:01]Max: So equivariance is the infusion of symmetry in neural networks. So if I build a neural network, let's say that needs to recognize this bottle, right, and then I rotate the bottle, it will then actually have to completely start again because it has no idea that the rotated bottle. Well, actually, the input that represents a rotated bottle is actually rotated bottle. It just doesn't understand that. Right. If you build equivariance in basically once you've trained it in one orientation, it will understand it in any other orientation. So that means you need a lot less data to train these models. And these are constraints on the weights of the model. So so basically you have to constrain the way such data to understand it. And you can build it in, you can hard code it in. And yeah, this the symmetry groups can be, you know, translations, rotations, but also permutations. I can graph neural network, their permutations and then physics, of course, as many more of these groups.[01:29:55:01 - 01:30:01:08]RJ: To pray devil's advocate, why not just use data augmentation by your bottle is in all the different orientations?[01:30:01:08 - 01:30:58:23]Max: As an option, it's just not exact. It's like, why would you go through the work of doing all that? Where you would really need an infinite number of augmentations to get it completely right. Where you can also hard code it in. Now, I have to say sometimes actually data augmentation works even better than hard coding the equivariance in. And this is something to do with the fact that if you constrain the optimization, the weights before the optimization starts, the optimization surface or objective becomes more complicated. And so it's harder to find good minima. So there is also a complicated interplay, I think, between the optimization process and these constraints you put in your network. And so, yeah, you'll hear kind of contradicting claims in this field. Like some people and for certain applications, it works just better than not doing it. And sometimes you hear other people, if you have a lot of data and you can do data augmentation, then actually it's easier to optimize them and it actually works better than putting the equivariance in.[01:30:58:23 - 01:31:07:16]Brandon: Do you think there's kind of a bitter lesson for mathematically founded models and strategies for doing deep learning?[01:31:07:16 - 01:31:46:06]Max: Yeah, ultimately it's a trade-off between data and inductive bias. So if your inductive bias is not perfectly correct, you have to be careful because you put a ceiling to what you can do. But if you know the symmetry is there, it's hard to imagine there isn't a way to actually leverage it. But yeah, so there is a bitter lesson. And one of the bitter lessons is you should always make sure your architecture is scale, unless you have a tiny data set, in which case it doesn't matter. But if you, you know, the same bitter lessons or lessons that you can draw in LLM space are eventually going to be true in this space as well, I think.[01:31:47:10 - 01:31:55:01]RJ: Can you talk a little bit about your upcoming book and tell the listeners, like, what's exciting about it? Yeah, I should read it.[01:31:55:01 - 01:33:42:20]Max: So this book is about, it's called Generative AI and Stochastic Thermodynamics. It basically lays bare the fact that the mathematics that goes into both generative AI, which is the technology to generate images and videos, and this field of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, which are systems of molecules that are just moving around and relaxing to the ground state, or that you can control to have certain, you know, be in a certain state, the mathematics of these two is actually identical. And so that's fascinating. And in fact, what's interesting is that Jeff Hinton and Radford Neal already wrote down the variational free energy for machine learning a long time ago. And there's also Carl Friston's work on free energy principle and active entrance. But now we've related it to this very new field in physics, which is called stochastic thermodynamics or non-equilibrium thermodynamics, which has its own very interesting theorems, like fluctuation theorems, which we don't typically talk about, but we can learn a lot from. And I think it's just it can sort of now start to cross fertilize. When we see that these things are actually the same, we can, like we did for symmetries, we can now look at this new theory that's out there, developed by these very smart physicists, and say, okay, what can we take from here that will make our algorithms better? At the same time, we can use our models to now help the scientists do better science. And so it becomes a beautiful cross-fertilization between these two fields. The book is rather technical, I would say. And it takes all sorts of things that have been done as stochastic thermodynamics, and all sorts of models that have been done in the machine learning literature, and it basically equates them to each other. And I think hopefully that sense of unification will be revealing to people.[01:33:42:20 - 01:33:44:05]RJ: Wait, and when is it out?[01:33:44:05 - 01:33:56:09]Max: Well, it depends on the publisher now. But I hope in April, I'm going to give a keynote at ICLR. And it would be very nice if they have this book in my hand. But you know, it's hard to control these kind of timelines.[01:33:56:09 - 01:33:58:19]RJ: Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Great.[01:33:58:19 - 01:33:59:25]Max: Thank you very much. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latent.space/subscribe

This week Nick talks to Paul McDadePaul has over 35 years of international experience in the oil and gas industry, with nearly two decades as COO and CEO of Tullow Oil. He helped transform the company into a FTSE 100 business, driving growth across Africa, including the development of Ghana's Jubilee field and major M&A activity. He holds a Master's in Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College London and a BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Strathclyde.Nick and Paul discuss Paul's early life in Glasgow and his route into the oil and gas industry, including studying petroleum engineering at Imperial College and working in the North Sea, Colombia and Kuwait. Paul describes being taken hostage during the Gulf War, which he reflects on as a formative personal experience. He explains how he joined Tullow Oil in 2001 and helped grow it into a major African-focused company, making discoveries in Ghana, Uganda and Kenya, and building local supply chains and employment. He later became CEO, managing the company through major challenges including oil price crashes, debt, asset disputes and mechanical issues, focusing on strengthening the balance sheet and maintaining investor confidence. Nick and Paul also discuss Paul's return to the industry after retirement, founding Afentra to invest in mature oil assets in Angola and support Africa's energy transition. Paul explains his belief that oil and gas will remain essential, particularly in developing economies, and argues that energy transition priorities differ between Africa and Europe.  Paul's Book choice was:Close to the Wind by Pete GossPaul's music choice was:Angel by Sarah McLachlan. City of AngelsThis content is issued by Zeus Capital Limited (“Zeus”) (Incorporated in England & Wales No. 4417845), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) for designated investment business, (Reg No. 224621) and is a member firm of the London Stock Exchange. This content is for information purposes only and neither the information contained, nor the opinions expressed within, constitute or are to be construed as an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities or other instruments mentioned in it. Zeus shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damages, including lost profits arising in any way from the information contained in this material. This material is for the use of intended recipients only.

Under pressure, our nerves can take over. At job interviews, performing in front of an audience and it's definitely present in sports. But why do our skills desert us at such a crucial moment? And what can be done to avoid choking? Studies have shown that when people tell themselves they're excited rather than nervous, they perform better. This podcast explores more ways to avoid the choke and why it happens. *This episode originally aired on Nov. 23, 2022.Guests in this episode:Sian Beilock is a cognitive scientist and author of Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting it Right When You Have to and How the Body Knows its Mind. She's recently been named President-elect of Dartmouth College.Sandra Bezic is a former Olympian and Canadian champion in figure skating (with her brother Val), and is now a producer, director and choreographer.Carolyn Christie is a retired member of the flute section of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. She now teaches classical flute at McGill and is also a Certified Mental Skills Consultant.Niklas Häusler is a neuroscientist and co-founder and CEO of the German startup company Neuro 11.Noa Kageyama is a performance psychologist. He maintains a blog and podcast, Bulletproof Musician.Elizabeth Manley was world and Olympic silver medalist in figure skating in 1988, and is now an executive life coach.Jennifer Montone is the principal horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra.Aaron Williamon is head of the Center for Performance Science, a partnership between the Royal College of Music and Imperial College, London.

Scientific Sense ® by Gill Eapen: Prof. Andrew Jaffe is professor of astrophysics and cosmology at Imperial College, London. He is the Director of the Imperial Centre for Inference and Cosmology. He studies the history and evolution of the Universe as a whole.Please subscribe to this channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/ScientificSense?sub_confirmation=1

What drives someone to leave Imperial College, Oxford, and IBM Research to return to India in the 1990s—when few dared—and build a robotics movement from scratch? In this episode of 3 Techies Banter, we sit down with Kavi Arya, the visionary behind e-Yantra and India's pioneering robotics education initiatives. From the challenges of returning to a liberalizing India, to creating robotic kits that empowered thousands of students, to scaling innovation for a nation of 1.4 billion - this conversation is a masterclass in resilience, risk‑taking, and reimagining engineering education. 00:00 – Highlights of the Episode 04:09 – Intro of Kavi Arya 06:40 – Returning to India in the 1990s 11:20 – Tata Research & Family Business 15:30 – Joining IIT Bombay 20:45 – Building Entrepreneurial Culture at IIT 26:10 – Teaching Embedded Systems & Robotics Kits 31:00 – National Mission for Education Using ICT 36:25 – Industry Experience at Mahindra & Mahindra 42:50 – Founding Iyantra 49:15 – Student Projects & Breakthroughs 55:40 – Scaling Robotics Education 01:02:00 – Advanced Training: Drones & Control Systems 01:08:30 – Innovation, Scale & Culture 01:15:00 – Closing Thoughts Discover how: A PhD in embedded systems met India's scarcity mindset. IIT Bombay became the birthplace of hands‑on robotics learning. Students built lemon‑sorting robots, drones, and even autonomous snakes. Scale, culture, and confidence are the true engines of innovation. If you've ever wondered how India can leapfrog into the future of technology, this episode is your blueprint.

Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez is the co-founder of the seaweed-based packaging company, Notpla. He and Pierre Paslier started working together in a kitchen while students at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College in 2013 and have since gone on to create a genuinely global brand. Essentially, Notpla aims to replace single-use plastic products – a huge issue with the world producing somewhere in the region of 400 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, and packaging estimated to account for 33 per cent of that. Like many people, Material Matters first came across the company a little under a decade ago when it launched Ooho, an edible bubble made from a seaweed membrane that contained water – or in some instances a rather strong cocktail – and, since then, the company has gone on to win numerous awards, including the inaugural Earthshot Prize in 2022.In this episode we talk about: the mis-use of plastic; Ooho's curious name; using seaweed at the London Marathon; why the material is the perfect replacement for plastic; the historic uses of seaweed – in glass, medicine and even beer; making paper and spoons from the material; flying water balloons over Hyde Park; how Notpla started as a side project; the importance of crowd funding to its beginnings; working from a kitchen table and being ‘parasites' of Imperial College; scaling up; meeting resistance from the plastic industry; concerns over bio-plastics; the effect Covid had on the company; and not wanting to be an architect.Support the show

On this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains dives deep with Alex Berkovic, co-founder and CEO of Sphynx, a company modernizing compliance workflows in financial services with AI-powered agents. Alex shares his journey from design engineering at Imperial College and MIT, through founding Adorno AI, to transforming compliance for fintechs, banks, and payments processors with Sphynx. The conversation explores how AI agents shift compliance teams from manual review to confident decision-making, reducing false positives and enabling scalable, reliable compliance. You'll hear practical insights on building customer-driven products, adapting for global regulations, scaling teams and culture, and the evolving role of SaaS leadership in the age of AI.Key Takeaways00:00 "AI Transforming Compliance and Branding"05:53 Manual Compliance Processes in Finance09:16 AI-Powered Decision Support Systems11:24 "Ensuring 99% Compliance Confidence"13:23 "Frictionless AI Integration Process"19:13 "Chasing PMF Relentlessly"21:17 Founder-Led Sales Through Conferences26:08 "Scaring Candidates to Attract Them"29:08 "Hiring High-Agency Talent Matters"31:41 "Firing Culture-Fit Employees"33:30 "Early Startup Hustle Culture"37:47 "AI Revolution in Compliance"42:03 "Driving Engagement & Strategy Insights"Tweetable QuotesAI-Assisted Decision Making in Regulated Industries: "But what they can have is an AI agent, giving them a summary of all the different sources that we orchestrated, the reasoning that we had into making a decision, and them being the final point into making that decision." — Alex Berkovic [00:09:52 → 00:10:08]AI and Compliance Risks: "In compliance, you can't have 20% where you're, I'm not sure. You can't even have 1% where you're not sure. If you onboard a sanctioned individual into your, your fintech or your bank, regulators are going to come in and hit you with a million-dollar fine." — Alex Berkovic [00:11:43 → 00:11:56]Frictionless AI Integration: "We don't need an engineering team to integrate our product, right? We don't need you to integrate our API or whatnot. So we'll work on top of existing systems, just like an employee." — Alex Berkovic [00:13:32 → 00:13:42]The Elusiveness of Product-Market Fit: "I always feel like it's like touching it by the tips of your finger, and then there's more to be done." — Alex Berkovic [00:19:18 → 00:19:23]The Value of High-Agency Employees: "People that leave and start their own thing is great. It means that you've hired someone that was really good at what they were doing." — Alex Berkovic [00:29:47 → 00:29:51]Viral Topic - Leadership Burnout: "Most leaders are exhausted from playing the lone hero, and it's killing both your results and your sanity." — Alex Berkovic [00:30:46 → 00:30:52]Startup Hustle Culture: "I would rather work twice as much rather than hire someone that's gonna not be the right person because we feel we need too much help and we need to deliver." — Alex Berkovic [00:33:37 → 00:33:47]SaaS Leadership Lessons1. **Build Products Based on Customer Needs, Not Just Passion**2. **Start with Co-pilot Mode to Build Trust Gradually**3. **Escalate Uncertain Cases to Humans—Never Compromise on Accuracy**4. **Onboard with Minimum Friction and Learn Company-Specific Processes**5. **Hire Slowly, Fire Fast, and Prioritize Culture Over Credentials**6. **Sustainable Leadership Means High Ownership and Constant Iteration**Guest ResourcesAlex Berkovicalex@sphinxlabs.aihttps://sphinxhq.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandreberkovic/https://x.com/alexberkovicEpisode SponsorThe...

To commemorate the centenary of electronic music pioneer Daphne Oram on 31 December 2025, Caro C explores Oram's lasting influence in a conversation with Sarah Angliss and Ian Stonehouse. The episode continues with Shiva Feshareki and James Bulley discussing their Proms performance of Still Point, Oram's innovative orchestral work from 1948 that integrated electronic sound and live manipulation.Chapters00:00 - IntroductionSarah Angliss & Ian Stonehouse02:15 - Composer, Inventor and the Radiophonic Workshop06:42 - Inspired by the sound-houses of Francis Bacon11:34 - Working In Frequency, Not Pitch13:01 - Tower Folly and the Oramics Machine16:09 - Working With Post-War Equipment22:12 - Insights and Inspiration from the Archives26:56 - Top Musical Selections From the ArchiveShiva Feshareki & James Bulley32:57 - A Proms Performance Of Still Point37:55 - The Daphne Oram Archive and Goldsmiths41:12 - Creating A Historically Accurate Performance45:22 - Following The Written Instructions53:27 - Creating An Updated ScoreSee also:https://www.soundonsound.com/people/graham-wrench-story-daphne-orams-optical-synthesizerhttps://www.soundonsound.com/people/story-bbc-radiophonic-workshopDaphne Oram BiogDaphne Oram (1925–2003) was a pioneering British composer and inventor, and one of the founders of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. A trailblazer in electronic music, she developed the Oramics system, a groundbreaking method of composing sound by drawing directly onto film, allowing pitch, timbre and dynamics to be controlled visually rather than through traditional notation. Her work fundamentally reshaped ideas about how music could be created, laying the foundations for electronic composition, sound synthesis and experimental music practices that continue to influence composers, producers and sound designers today.Website: www.daphneoram.orgSarah Angliss BiogSarah Angliss is an Ivor Novello Award-winning composer, performer, and instrument designer working across film, theatre, and live performance in Europe and North America. Her work includes the electroacoustic score for Romola Garai's Amulet and the opera Giant, which combines baroque instruments with electronics and DIY music machines. Drawing on European folk, cybernetics, and electroacoustic engineering, her music explores inventive sound design. Sarah has received the Visionary Award from the Ivors Academy (2021) and a Paul Hamlyn Award for Composers (2018). She's recently joined the Augmented Instruments Lab at Imperial College, London, for researching lost alternative design strategies dormant in forgotten electronic musical instruments.Website: www.sarahangliss.comInstagram: @sarah_anglissIan Stonehouse BiogIan Stonehouse is an archivist, researcher and performer working in the Electronic Music Studios and Special Collections at Goldsmiths, University of London, with the archives of composers Daphne Oram, Lily Greenham and Hugh Davies. He has lectured in Sonic Art for over 30 years and was Head of the Electronic Music Studios at Goldsmiths from 2004-2019. Most recently he's been a research consultant and instrument maker for projects including Lily Greenham: An Art of Living at Badischer Kunstverein in Karlsruhe, Germany (2024), the Science Museum's Time Loops concert series with composer Gavin Bryars and the group Icebreaker (2024-25), Ensemble Contrechamps' Daphne Oram: An Individual Note concert at the Auditorium Ansermet in Geneva (2025), Nonclassical's Vari/ations: An Ode to Oram event at the Barbican in London (2025) and as part of an ensemble celebrating the legacy of experimental group Gentle Fire at Cafe Oto in London (2026).Bandcamp: ianstonehouse.bandcamp.comInstagram: @soonheisatuneShiva Feshareki Biog A doctoral composition graduate from the Royal College of Music, Shiva Feshareki is an Ivor Novello award-winning British-Iranian composer and turntablist, working at the intersection of contemporary-classical and electronic music. She has performed internationally in concert halls, galleries, and raves, including the BBC Proms, Southbank Centre, Barbican, Konzerthaus Berlin, Mutek Montreal, and Amsterdam Dance Event, collaborating with ensembles such as the BBC Singers, London Contemporary Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, and Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.Website: studiofeshareki.comInstagram: @shivafesharekiX - @shivafesharekiJames Bulley BiogJames Bulley is an artist and musician working with sound across installation, performance, immersive audio, film, theatre, and public art. His work has been presented internationally in galleries, concert halls, and public spaces. Projects include the world-premiere performance of Daphne Oram's Still Point at the BBC Proms, alongside collaborations with artists, filmmakers, and institutions including Marshmallow Laser Feast, the National Trust, Opera North, and the BBC.Website: jamesbulley.comInstagram: @jjbulleyCaro C BiogCaro C is an artist, engineer and teacher specialising in electronic music. Her self-produced fourth album 'Electric Mountain' is out now. Described as a "one-woman electronic avalanche" (BBC), Caro started making music thanks to being laid up whilst living in a double decker bus and listening to the likes of Warp Records in the late 1990's. This 'sonic enchantress' (BBC Radio 3) has now played in most of the cultural hotspots of her current hometown of Manchester, UK. Caro is also the instigator and project manager of electronic music charity Delia Derbyshire Day.Website: carocsound.comX: @carocsoundInstagram: @carocsoundFacebook: www.facebook.com/carocsoundCatch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Abdus Shaik, PhD student at Imperial College, London, gives this week's Fusion News update - summarizing behind the headlines of recent fusion energy news articles. Links to the stories discussed are included below.1. General Fusion to go public in US via $1 billion SPAC dealhttps://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/general-fusion-go-public-us-via-1-billion-spac-deal-2026-01-22/2. EU lawmakers back declaration urging the bloc to lead in commercial fusion energyhttps://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/01/27/eu-lawmakers-back-declaration-urging-the-bloc-to-lead-in-commercial-fusion-energy3. UKAEA spinout to develop ‘high-power' microwaves for fusionhttps://www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/ukaea-spinout-to-develop-high-power-microwaves-for-fusion/4. UT To Partner with ORNL, Type One Energy on World-Class Facility to Validate Next-Gen Fusion https://research.utk.edu/oried/2026/01/21/ut-to-partner-with-ornl-type-one-energy-on-world-class-facility-to-validate-next-gen-fusion/ 5. Drone test flights prove possibilities for use in fusionhttps://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/drone-test-flights-prove-possibilities-for-use-in-fusionBonus:https://www.fusionindustryassociation.org/fia-annual-conference-2026/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDh59_PK_oc

Deep in the woods at our very own Bush of Ghosts stage at Watching Trees, Scottish producer Brian d'Souza, aka Auntie Flo, brought his ‘Plants Can Dance' project to life in a five-hour ambient set beneath a canopy of trees. Drawing from the playlists he's been curating for Imperial College's psychedelic therapy trials, d'Souza transformed the clearing into what he describes as “a sanctuary away from the main stage,” where human – and non-human – audiences alike could experience music designed to mirror the quiet intelligence of the natural world. This 90 min excerpt captures the heart of that nocturnal performance, guiding listeners through the Ascent, Peak, and Descent phases – a journey filtered from the vast database of ambient music d'Souza has amassed over five years of running Ambient Flo radio. The setting itself became integral to the experience: darkness creating a natural sensory deprivation that, as d'Souza notes, allows listeners to become “more absorbed in their other senses, including the sounds they hear.” At the core of d'Souza's ‘Sunflowers' next instalment for our Music To Watch Seeds series: auntieflo.bandcamp.com/album/music-to-watch-seeds-grow-by-007-brian-d-souza-sunflowers lies a profound botanical truth: sunflowers practice cooperation over competition. Recent research reveals that when these plants encounter nutrient-rich soil between neighbours, they deliberately root elsewhere to avoid conflict – a form of underground etiquette that challenges our traditional understanding of survival of the fittest. D'Souza's album captures this behaviour sonically, using biodata from his son's sunflower in their London garden, converted into sound through his modular synthesiser via Instruo's Scion module. This live performance extends that concept into the forest, where ambient music fulfils its original definition – having enough space to mix with environmental sounds, creating a novel soundscape at all times. As d'Souza reflects on Peter Wohlleben's ‘Hidden Life Of Trees' and its description of forests as interconnected social networks, the Bush of Ghosts set becomes a meditation on what he calls “the More Than Human world” – a space where silence represents the fragility of life, and where trees, unlike festival-goers, “aren't going to leave the dancefloor if they don't like a track.” The result is an invitation to forge a deeper connection with the natural world, to witness how plants can indeed dance. Full interview here: https://www.theransomnote.com/music/mixes/seeds-mix-8-brian-dsouza-live-bush-of-ghosts/ @auntie-flo @watching-trees

Join us as Nuha Yassin sits down with Sue Clark, Terri McVeigh and Frank McDermott to discuss genomics and molecular surgery. Genomics and molecular surgery have the potential to change our approaches to healthcare and surgical practice. These exciting advancements in genomics and molecular surgery are allowing us to better personalise treatments and improve patient outcomes. This includes the use of next generation sequencing, circulating tumour DNA, polygenic risk scores, pharmacogenomics and personalised drug treatments such as cancer vaccines. Join us for the Future of Surgery Festival this April for a celebration of surgery, where innovation meets inspiration. Host: Nuha Yassin Nuha Yassin is a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at University Hospitals Birmingham and an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Birmingham. Her clinical and research interests focus on technology, minimally invasive, and robotic surgical techniques for colorectal cancer and IBD. She is the Lead for robotic colorectal surgery at her trust and the first female national proctor for robotic colorectal surgery in the UK. Guest: Sue Clark Professor Sue Clark MD FRCS (Gen Surg) EBSQ (Coloproctology) is a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at St Mark's Hospital, and Professor of Practice (Colorectal Surgery) at Imperial College, London, UK. Additional roles include Chair of the UK-wide Hereditary Gastrointestinal Polyposis Syndromes Rare Disease Collaborative Network, Administrative Officer of the International Society for Gastrointestinal Hereditary Tumours (InSiGHT) and Chair of the Bowel Research UK Grants Committee. She was previously Director of the St Mark's Hospital Polyposis Registry, RCS(England) Genomics Champion, member of the RCS(England) Commission on the Future of Surgery, Editor in Chief of Colorectal Disease and member of InSiGHT Council. Guest: Terri McVeigh Terri McVeigh is a Consultant Clinical Geneticist in the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London, with clinician–scientist training that includes international research and clinical fellowships. Her work spans genomic medicine, education and national service development. She works with NHS England's Genomics Education Programme, supporting curriculum development, faculty training and the creation of learning resources for both specialist and mainstream clinicians. As a Professional Lead within the Genomics Training Academy, she helps shape educational strategy, assessment approaches and faculty development, and co‑chairs the Oncology and Malignant Haematology GeNotes working groups.  Guest: Frank McDermott Frank McDermott is Lead for Genomics and Molecular Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and Associate Professor at the University of Exeter. His clinical and academic interests include colorectal cancer, complex decision-making, and the integration of genomics into routine surgical practice. He is Clinical Director of the South West Genomic Medicine Service Alliance and Editor of BJS Open and is involved in national and international collaborative research focused on improving personalised cancer care.Produced by: Andrea Pearson References GeNotes: GeNotes: Genomic notes for clinicians | GEP | NHS England GTAC: GTAC: The Genomics Training Academy - Genomics Education Programme UKCGG one-page clinical guidelines: UKCGG leaflets and guidelines - Cancer Genetics Group RCS Genomics e-learning module: https://vle.rcseng.ac.uk/enrol/index.php?id=730 Current and future genomic applications for surgeons: https://publishing.rcseng.ac.uk/doi/full/10.1308/rcsann.2024.0031  The impact of cancer genomics across the surgical pathway: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0263931925000225 Precision surgery: harnessing the power of genomics: https://publishing.rcseng.ac.uk/doi/10.1308/rcsbull.2026.1

En el Consultorio de Bolsa con Javier Cabrera, analista de XTB, el analista comenta la jornada bursátil y el sentimiento de mercado. Nuestros expertos responden a las dudas que plantean los oyentes sobre sus carteras de valores nacionales e internacionales. Por otro lado, en la Pizarra del Consultorio de Bolsa, Sobre Javier Cabrera Estudió ADE en la Universidad de Málaga. European Financial Advisor de la asociación EFPA. Certificado ESG Essential por EFFAS. Programa executive de Valoración de Empresas y Análisis Financiero por ISBIF. Curso de Especialización en Gestión de Carteras por AFI Escuela. Programa executive online de M&A por Imperial College. Datos relevantes: fundador y presidente del club de bolsa de la Universidad de Málaga. Los oyentes pueden mandarnos al Consultorio de Bolsa con Javier Cabrera WhatsApp al teléfono 609 22 47 16. Si prefieren hablar directamente con los analistas y comentarles sus dudas, pueden contactarles en el número de teléfono 91 533 18 51.

El profesor José Trinidad López Gómez es Investigador Científico del Instituto de Geociencias de Madrid (IGEO). Doctor por la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, con estancias postdoctorales en la Universidad de Montreal (Canadá) y el Imperial College de Londres. Dedica su investigación a la gran extinción que tuvo lugar en la era Pérmico-Triásico, hace unos 252 millones de años. Autor del libro “La Vida al borde del abismo” de la colección “Qué sabemos de …” de la Editorial Catarata.1:00 Mis Inicios. Geología en la Complutense. Centro de Geociencias.5:00 Líneas de investigación: Cambio Climático, Sistema Solar. 7:00 Mentores: Alfredo Arche y Carmina Virgili8:30: Las 5 Grandes Extinciones. Definición y como se datan20:00 ¿Por qué se extinguen las especies? Vulcanismo del Pérmico-Triásico33:00 La quinta gran extinción con la desaparición de los Dinosaurios43:00 La “explosión” del Cámbrico hace 540 millones de años48:00 El Pérmico.52:00 Vida extraplanetaria y colonización de Marte59:00 Momentos Eureka1:03:00 Investigación en España1:10:00 Aficiones y Viajes: Los Andes y el Artico1:14:00 Libros: Menos es Mas (Jason Hickel); La naturaleza de la naturaleza (Enric Sala); el buen antepasado (Roman Krzanaric); When Live Nearly Died (Michael Benton) 

In this episode of Critical Matters, Dr. Sergio Zanotti discusses the management of acute type B aortic dissection. He is joined by Dr. Firas Mussa, a vascular surgeon and professor at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. Dr. Mussa also holds a joint appointment with Imperial College in London. Additional resources: Management of Acute Type B Aortic Dissection. FF Mussa and P Kougias. N Engl J of Med 2025: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40902163/ 2022 ACC/AHA Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Aortic Disease: A Report of the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines. EM Isselbacher, et al. Circulation 2022: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36322642/ Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Reporting Standards for Type B Aortic Dissections. JV Lombardi, et al. J Vasc Surg 2020: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32001058/ Endovascular repair of type B aortic dissection: long-term results of the randomized investigation of stent grafts in aortic dissection trial. INSTEAD-XL Trial. CA Nienaber, et al. Circ Cardiovasc Inter 2013: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23922146/ Books mentioned in this episode: A Dangerous Liaison: A Revelatory New Biography of Simon de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Satre. By Carole Seymour-Jones: https://bit.ly/3L0pIov A Time For All Things: The Life of Michael E. DeBakey. By Craig Miller, et al.: https://bit.ly/44B2uMw

A morte inesperada e prematura de Nuno Loureiro foi um choque profundo. Em mais de oito anos de 45 Graus, nunca tinha perdido um convidado tão jovem e brilhante, com tanto ainda para dar ao mundo. Apesar da sua partida, o seu legado permanece. Espero que este episódio contribua para divulgar a área da fusão nuclear e inspire novos investigadores a seguir o caminho científico que o Nuno deixou aberto.Recorde aqui o episódio 119, originalmente publicado em abril de 2022. _______________ Nuno Loureiro é licenciado em Engenharia Física Tecnológica pelo Instituto Superior Técnico, e doutorado em física pelo Imperial College de Londres. A sua especialidade é a física dos plasmas e as suas aplicações à fusão nuclear e a problemas do domínio da astrofísica. Actualmente é professor catedrático do departamento de Ciência e Engenharia Nuclear e do departamento de Física do Massachusetts Institute of Technology, EUA. _______________ Índice da conversa: (0:00) Introdução (07:36) Como funciona a energia nuclear de fusão? Reagentes: deutério e trítio (isótopos de hidrogéneo) (14:57) Porque é tão difícil gerar fusão nuclear? Potencial da computação quântica (25:46) De onde vem a energia nuclear? (28:40) Progressos recentes. Record do National Ignition Facility (NIF) de Agosto 2021. Record do JET de Fevereiro de 2022. Projecto ITER. Fusão magnética vs inercial (laser). Investimento privado. (39:00) O que explica progressos recentes? Cimeira na Casa Branca em Março. (42:46) Desafios para tornar energia de fusão comercialmente viável. (46:54) Como converter energia nuclear em electricidade? Aneutronic Fusion (48:07) Há perigos na fusão nuclear, como na energia nuclear tradicional (de fissão)? (50:30) O que estão a fazer as empresas privadas de diferente? Germany’s Wendelstein 7-X stellarator. (55:39) Porque é que a Europa está a liderar a investigação nesta área? (58:40) Que método é mais promissor: confinamento magnético ou inercial (laser)? (01:02:13) Como a investigação nesta área ilumina a Astrofísica. (01:04:44) Previsões: quando vamos conseguir tornar a energia de fusão viável? Livros recomendados: The Star Builders, de Arthur Turrell. Star Power, de Alain Bécoulet _______________ Todos sabemos que, para fazer face às alterações climáticas, o Mundo tem forçosamente de diminuir o consumo de energias fósseis. O petróleo e o gás são, além disso, altamente sensíveis a perturbações geopolíticas, como os últimos meses têm mostrado, com impacto directo na vida das pessoas. No entanto, a verdade é que a energia é necessária, e as energias renováveis ainda não permitem fazer face às necessidades energéticas, de tal forma que o grosso da energia consumida no mundo continua a ser de combustíveis fósseis. Mas e se vos dissesse que existe uma fonte de energia alternativa que não emite dióxido de carbono para a atmosfera, tem um baixo risco associado e é, além disso, virtualmente ilimitada? Parece exagero, mas é verdade. Chama-se energia de fusão nuclear. Esta energia é ainda mais poderosa do que a energia nuclear clássica (de fissão), utiliza matérias ilimitadas (átomos e isótopos de hidrogénio) e, ao contrário daquela, produz muito pouca radioactividade. E se vos dissesse, ainda, que tem havido nos últimos tempos avanços promissores que podem tornar esta energia viável nas próximas décadas? Há muito tempo, há quase um século, que sabemos que é possível produzir energia de fusão. Por uma razão simples: é ela a fonte de energia do Sol, onde as altas temperaturas e a enorme gravidade geram a fusão de átomos de hidrogénio. No entanto, conseguir gerar este tipo de reacção na terra tem-se revelado muito difícil. Esta dificuldade é de tal forma, que há até uma piada batida no meio: “faltam só 30 anos até termos energia de fusão… e hão-de sempre faltar!”. Abordei a energia de fusão pela primeira vez no 45 Graus, no final de 2018, no episódio 42, com Luís O. Silva, físico e professor do Técnico. Em qualquer outra altura das últimas décadas, é quase certo que um episódio gravado há 3 anos continuaria perfeitamente actual. No entanto, desta vez não é assim -- e por bons motivos. Tem havido nos últimos anos desenvolvimentos importantes nesta área. Só no último ano, verificaram-se dois dos maiores avanços concretos das últimas décadas no caminho para produzir energia de fusão. Em Agosto do ano passado, nos EUA, a National Ignition Facility (NIF) bateu o record no que toca ao rácio de energia gerada pelo processo de fusão nuclear face à energia que foi necessário injectar para accionar a fusão (a energia gerada continua a ser menos do que a energia injectada, mas é um resultado muito promissor). E mais recentemente, em fevereiro deste ano (o que, em Ciência, é o mesmo que dizer -- ontem), o laboratório JET, no Reino Unido, bateu o record do máximo de energia total gerada pelo processo de fusão. Ainda faltam muitos passos para tornar esta energia viável, mas estes são dois progressos muito importantes; de tal forma que ainda em Março houve uma cimeira importante sobre o tema organizada pelo governo norte-americano. Ao mesmo tempo, estes progressos e o imperativo de encontrar soluções para as alterações climáticas tem levado a um aumento do investimento, inclusive privado, com dezenas de novas empresas a tentarem, actualmente, serem as primeiras a produzir energia de fusão viável. Parece por isso, finalmente, que podemos ter uma expectativa realista de ver avanços importantes nesta área no futuro próximo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine a tattoo that changes color to warn you of health issues, or a watch that knows you're getting sick before you do.In this fascinating episode, we explore breakthrough biosensor technology with Imperial College's Ali Yetisen and precision medicine pioneer Michael Snyder, who reveal how real-time health monitoring is transforming from science fiction to reality. Learn how new technologies like smart tattoos, wearable devices, and advanced blood testing are revolutionizing healthcare, shifting us from treating illness to preventing it entirely through continuous, personalized health tracking.Episode TranscriptYou can find Michael at: WebsiteYou can find Ali at: WebsiteIf you LOVED this episode, don't miss a single conversation in our Future of Medicine series, airing every Monday through December. Follow Good Life Project wherever you listen to podcasts to catch them all.Check out our offerings & partners: Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the WheelVisit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a textThe evolution of the (not so) hairless human body Leah Redmond is a certified trichologist, who completed her studies with the Institute of Trichology whilst also studying Molecular bioengineering at Imperial College, London!She has completed her bachelor's & masters projects covering Male Pattern hair loss, when her interest in trichology began, and she is now completing a PHD on the hair papilla.She has been studying hair fibre pigmentation & human body hair evolution- basically how we evolved to our current (non- furry) state! She has been looking at the body hair of monkeys, compared to humans.She has written a review which has been accepted by the British Journal of Dermatology.We discuss how this change in body hair ay have occurred, what even is the dermal papilla and what does it do? Gene mutations, and why we may have hair at all.Connect with Leah:LinkedIn Hair & Scalp Salon Specialist course Support the showConnect with Hair therapy: Facebook Instagram Twitter Clubhouse- @Hair.Therapy Donate towards the podcast Start your own podcastHair & Scalp Salon Specialist Course ~ Book now to become an expert!

November 12, 2025Abdus Shaik, PhD student at Imperial College, London, gives this week's Fusion News update - summarizing behind the headlines of recent fusion energy news articles. Links to the stories discussed are included below.1. Germany announces major national investment plan for fusion energyhttps://www.dw.com/en/nuclear-fusion-germany-bets-billions-on-technology-for-energy-future/a-745221092. A U.S. think tank calls for a ten billion dollar government push to maintain American leadership in fusionhttps://www.nucnet.org/news/stakes-have-increased-as-us-risks-falling-behind-china-in-race-for-nuclear-fusion-11-3-20253. Japan moves closer to commercial fusion with a successful new testhttps://inspenet.com/en/noticias/japan-moves-toward-commercial-fusion-power-with-successful-test/4. Why the Al Industry Is Betting on a Fusion Energy Breakthroughhttps://time.com/7328213/nuclear-fusion-energy-ai/Bonus:https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/16137063https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxs0Z8hmMZUWatch the episode on the FIA's YouTube channel:https://youtu.be/tTVfBhsUn-Q

Science has an incredibly impressive track record of uncovering nonintuitive ideas about the universe that turn out to be surprisingly accurate. It can be tempting to think of scientific discoveries as being carefully constructed atop a rock-solid foundation. In reality, scientific progress is tentative and fallible. Scientists propose models, assign them probabilities, and run tests to see whether they succeed or fail. In cosmologist Andrew Jaffe's new book, The Random Universe, he illustrates how models and probability help us make sense of the cosmos.Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025/11/10/335-andrew-jaffe-on-models-probability-and-the-universe/Support Mindscape on Patreon.Andrew Jaffe received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. He is currently a professor of astrophysics and cosmology and Director of the Imperial Centre for Inference and Cosmology at Imperial College, London. His research lies at the intersection of theoretical and observational cosmology, including the Planck Surveyor, Euclid, LISA, and Simons Observatory collaborations.Web siteImperial web pageGoogle Scholar publicationsAmazon author pageSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Ohne den Klimawandel hätte es den Hurrikan in der Karibik wohl nicht gegeben+++ Darum geben wir immer mehr Trinkgeld +++ So bleiben Grönlandwale 200 Jahre lang gesund +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Hurricane Melissa, Imperial College, October 2025A Modeling Framework for Tipping in the Presence of a Social Norm, Managment Science, 18.08.25Evidence for improved DNA repair in long-lived bowhead whale, Nature, 29.10.2025Verhütungsverhalten Erwachsener und Jugendlicher 2024. Im Fokus: 18- bis 49-Jährige, Bundesinstitut für öffentliche Gesundheit, Oktober 2025Kiruna: The Arctic town that forgot about winter, Urban Design International, 05.08.25Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .

In this special episode of The Digital Marketing Podcast, Daniel Rowles sits down with Alex Schultz, Meta's Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Analytics, to unpack the future of digital marketing, and why the fundamentals still matter more than ever. Alex shares lessons from his remarkable journey: from running the world's top paper airplane website to leading growth at Meta, managing multi-billion dollar ad campaigns, and now authoring the industry-defining book Click Here. With high-profile endorsements from Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Daniel Ek, and Matthew Vaughn, the book has already gettimg rave reviews, and Daniel is putting it straight onto the reading list for his students at Imperial College. Together, Daniel and Alex dig into the core principles of great marketing: how to set meaningful goals, measure true impact, build high-performance teams, and embrace AI without losing your strategic edge. In This Episode: Why Alex wrote Click Here and why the industry desperately needed a book that gets back to fundamentals, marketing measurement, and pride in the profession. The power of incrementality: How to run meaningful tests, avoid vanity metrics, and prove real value to your CEO and CFO. Why goals are not the same as metrics and how mixing them up can derail your marketing efforts. The importance of awareness:  Why most businesses fail because people simply don't know they exist. Marketing mix matters: How one newspaper mention outperformed every digital channel—and why the basics still beat the buzz. Mediocre marketing + great conversion = success: Why broken funnels kill campaigns, no matter how brilliant your creative is. How Meta builds defensible growth : What sets their marketing apart, from deep integration with product and engineering, to AI-powered insights. AI's real impact on marketing jobs: A breakdown of the three kinds of disruption AI will bring, and why the marketers who embrace it will thrive. Paper planes, transparency, and unexpected beginnings: Hear how Alex's nerdy hobby turned into a viral website, and why he publicly shares his university grades to inspire others. Key Takeaways: Get back to basics: Clear goals, good data, and fundamental models (like the funnel) still win. Measure what matters: Metrics are not goals - incrementality is everything. Focus on defensibility and scale in your marketing channels, don't waste time on things that can't grow. AI won't replace marketers - marketers who use AI will replace those who don't. Be transparent and human: Success doesn't require perfection, it requires clarity, curiosity, and continuous learning.

Welcome to the Psychedelic Conversations Podcast!In this episode of Psychedelic Conversations, we speak with Anne Rossignol, a leading voice in the intersection of psychedelics and addiction recovery. Anne shares her personal journey from traditional 12-step abstinence-based programs to incorporating psilocybin and community-based support into her healing process. As a co-applicant and PPI lead on the psilocybin trial at Imperial College, she discusses her role in bridging clinical research with lived experience and highlights the importance of integration through community. We dive into the structure and goals of the upcoming psilocybin trial for opioid addiction and the unique challenges of connecting participants with long-term support. Anne also introduces the Psychedelics in Recovery fellowship—a safe space for those using psychedelics in recovery—to foster connection, reduce stigma, and promote healing. This is a powerful conversation about science, spirituality, and community-driven transformation in addiction recovery.About Anne:Three years into her abstinence-based recovery program, Anne encountered psychedelics and discovered PIR (Psychedelics in Recovery). This marked the beginning of a transformative spiritual journey of self-healing and recovery, opening doors she never imagined. Her path led her to the Amazon, where she immersed herself in deeper exploration, eventually finding herself at the forefront of psychedelic research at Imperial College as a consultant on the Psilopioid clinical trial.On her road to recovery, Anne was called to psychedelics and discovered PIR (Psychedelics in Recovery), a fellowship of individuals integrating psychedelics and plant medicines within a 12-step framework. This marked the beginning of a journey of individuation and deep transformation. Starting with a microdosing approach that helped release layers of shame and guilt, she broke free from the repetitive cycles of addiction and experienced a profound spiritual awakening. Through psilocybin ceremonies and a life-changing journey to the Amazon, Anne found emotional and spiritual openness, realizing her connection to the greater whole. No longer isolated or detached, she embraced the understanding that the antidote to addiction is connection—a bridge that psychedelics have powerfully provided on her path to living life on life's terms.Connect with Anne:- Website: https://www.psychedelicsinrecovery.org/- LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/anne-rossignol-829306b9Filmed by Rua Acorn, creator of @thegoodtimes and founder of Modular Media®:https://www.modularmedia.co/Thank you so much for joining us! Psychedelic Conversations Podcast is designed to educate, inform, and expand awareness.For more information, please head over to https://www.psychedelicconversations.comPlease share with your friends or leave a review so that we can reach more people and feel free to join us in our private Facebook group to keep the conversation going. https://www.facebook.com/groups/psychedelicconversationsThis show is for information purposes only, and is not intended to provide mental health or medical advice.About Susan Guner:Susan Guner is a holistic psychotherapist with a mindfulness-based approach grounded in Transpersonal Psychology, focusing on trauma-informed, community-centric processes that offer a broader understanding of human potential and well-being.Connect with Susan:Website: https://www.psychedelicconversations.com/Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/susan.gunerLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-guner/Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/susangunerTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/susangunerBlog: https://susanguner.medium.com/Podcast: https://anchor.fm/susan-guner#PsychedelicConversations #SusanGuner #AnneRossignol #PsychedelicPodcast #Microdosing #PsychedelicScience #PlantMedicines #PsychedelicResearch #Entheogens

In this episode, Professor Brian Launder (Professor at the University of Manchester and Fellow of the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineers) shares his remarkable journey through academia, detailing his early fascination with heat transfer, his transition to MIT, and his significant contributions to turbulence modeling and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). We touch upon the key role that Professor Brian Spalding had on his career as well as work that led to the breakthrough k-epilson turbulence model as well as the pioneering work on second-moment closure model. Prof Launder highlights the key role of collaborators and ex students such as Professors Hector Iacovides, Tim Craft, Bill Jones, Kemal Hanjalić and many more. He ends with advice for early-stage researchers and reflections on more than 50 years worth of academic research.Chapters00:30 Introduction05:00 Early Academic Journey10:06 Transition to MIT and Research Focus16:21 Return to Imperial College and Early Career21:06 Research Projects and PhD Students27:46 Development of the k-epilson model33:18 CHAM and Career Changes36:24 Move to UC Davis and New Research Directions44:05 Challenges and Opportunities in Research47:07 The Interview Experience51:14 Transition to Manchester University52:23 Research Innovations in Turbulence Modeling57:45 The Development of the TCL Model01:03:15 Nonlinear Eddy Viscosity Models01:05:58 Advanced Wall Functions and Their Applications01:10:09 Reflections on Career and Contributions01:15:49 Legacy and Impact on Turbulence ModelingTop Turbulence Modelling contributions (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Y3JbAK8AAAAJ&hl=en) 

In this World Shared Practice Forum Podcast, Dr. Kathryn Maitland discusses the findings of the GASTROSAM trial, which investigates the safety and efficacy of intravenous rehydration for children with severe acute malnutrition and gastroenteritis. The trial explores the effectiveness of intravenous fluids as a safe alternative to current rehydration guidelines for malnourished children. Dr. Maitland reviews the trial's design, key outcomes, and implications for clinical practice, providing valuable insights for healthcare professionals involved in pediatric care in resource-limited settings. LEARNING OBJECTIVES - Understand the key findings of the GASTROSAM trial and their implications for rehydration practices in children with severe acute malnutrition. - Identify the challenges and limitations of current rehydration guidelines for malnourished children in resource-limited settings. - Discuss the safety concerns associated with intravenous rehydration and how the GASTROSAM trial addresses these issues. - Explore the importance of simplifying the rehydration guidelines for children in resource-limited settings AUTHORS Kathryn Maitland, FMedSc, OBE Professor of Tropical Paediatric Infectious Disease Department of Surgery & Cancer Faculty of Medicine Director of ICCARE Centre at the Institute for Global Health Innovation, Imperial College, London Jeffrey Burns, MD, MPH Emeritus Chief Division of Critical Care Medicine Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine Boston Children's Hospital Professor of Anesthesia Harvard Medical School DATE Initial publication date: September 22, 2025. ARTICLES REFERENCED - Maitland K, Ouattara SM, Sainna H, et al. Intravenous Rehydration for Severe Acute Malnutrition with Gastroenteritis. N Engl J Med. Published online June 13, 2025. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2505752 - Maitland K, Kiguli S, Opoka RO, et al. Mortality after fluid bolus in African children with severe infection. N Engl J Med. 2011;364(26):2483-2495. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1101549 - Brent B, Obonyo N, Akech S, et al. Assessment of Myocardial Function in Kenyan Children With Severe, Acute Malnutrition: The Cardiac Physiology in Malnutrition (CAPMAL) Study. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(3):e191054. Published 2019 Mar 1. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.1054 TRANSCRIPT https://cdn.bfldr.com/D6LGWP8S/at/xvv7vchn4skmc6m6wv25xfw/UPDATED_202509_WSP_Maitland_Transcript.pdf Please visit: http://www.openpediatrics.org OPENPediatrics™ is an interactive digital learning platform for healthcare clinicians sponsored by Boston Children's Hospital and in collaboration with the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. It is designed to promote the exchange of knowledge between healthcare providers around the world caring for critically ill children in all resource settings. The content includes internationally recognized experts teaching the full range of topics on the care of critically ill children. All content is peer-reviewed and open-access thus at no expense to the user. For further information on how to enroll, please email: openpediatrics@childrens.harvard.edu CITATION Maitland K, Burns JP. GASTROSAM Key Insights: Safe Rehydration for Malnourished Children. 09/2025. OPENPediatrics. Online Podcast. https://soundcloud.com/openpediatrics/gastrosam-key-insights-safe-rehydration-for-malnourished-children-by-k-maitland-openpediatrics.

September 3rd, 2025Abdus Shaik, PhD student at Imperial College in London, gives this week's Fusion News update - summarizing behind the headlines of recent fusion energy news articles. Links to the stories discussed are included below.1. Commonwealth Fusion Systems raises $863 Millionhttps://cfs.energy/news-and-media/commonwealth-fusion-systems-raises-863-million-series-b2-round-to-accelerate-the-commercialization-of-fusion-energy 2. Inertia Enterprises Launches with DOE and LLNL supporthttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250826432256/en/Inertia-Enterprises-Launches-to-Commercialize-Fusion-Energy-Founded-by-Proven-Leaders-in-Business-and-Science3. Fusion funding and power purchase agreements ramp uphttps://www.theverge.com/news/766269/nuclear-fusion-project-map4. General Fusion raises $22 millionhttps://generalfusion.com/post/a-new-day-general-fusion-closes-oversubscribed-us22-million-financing-welcomes-new-board-members Bonus:https://www.fusionindustryassociation.org/over-2-5-billion-invested-in-fusion-industry-in-past-year/https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a65595434/china-super-steel/#Watch the episode on FIA's YouTube channel:https://youtu.be/GdPNiZ6NBHk

If building and preserving wealth feels overwhelming, these insights are designed for ultra-high-net-worth families and corporate executives like you. In this episode of the Registered Investment Advisor Podcast, Seth Greene speaks with Gerasimos Efthimiatos, CEO of Chesapeake Asset Management, who shares his extensive experience in managing multi-asset portfolios for high-net-worth individuals and families. After 18 years in the hedge fund industry, Gerasimos now leads an innovative wealth management firm that focuses on both traditional securities and alternative investments. From offering customized wealth solutions for corporate executives to using strategic tax-aware investment strategies, Gerasimos and his team at Chesapeake help clients protect and grow their wealth across public and private markets.   Key Takeaways: → The importance of offering both traditional and alternative asset solutions. → Why alternative investments are crucial for ultra-high-net-worth families. → The key to differentiating a wealth management firm in a crowded market. → The rise of multi-asset portfolios and how to manage them effectively. → The role of sophisticated clients in helping shape investment offerings. Gerasimos Efthimiatos is an investor and strategist with twenty years of experience investing in both public and private companies globally. He is CAM's CEO and Managing Partner, where he oversees both direct and externally managed investments. Gerasimos has advised family offices, endowments, and foundations on asset allocation and investment selection, and has deep alternative investment domain expertise across private equity, hedge funds, and venture capital. Previously, Gerasimos held senior portfolio and risk manager roles in hedge funds, including as Partner at Habrok Capital Partners, an equity long/short fund based in London. He received a Master of Engineering from University of London's Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine and an MBA from Cornell University's Johnson School of Management.   Connect With Gerasimos:   Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matthew Stafford is a Venture Capitalist and founder of the 9others network.He didn't follow a conventional path into VC. Growing up on a farm in Northumberland the world of investments and start-ups was miles away.After school he got a job at John Lewis, then started his own t-shirt company and then moved into IT with RBS before moving to Bank of New York.He went to university a bit later in life at 27, where he studied computer science at Durham, where he convinced the interviewer that he would work really hard despite only having two very poor A-levels. He felt out of place with the other students; almost 10 years younger and in his words, they were much cleverer. However he worked hard and by the time he graduated in 2006 it was the time of the tech startup, which inspired Matthew and he decided to work for smaller companies to have more of an impact.His journey into VC came in his early 30s after his MBA at Imperial College and he has coined the phrase “pay-as-you-go investor” to describe his approach. He wants to show people that they don't need millions in the bank, like a Dragon, to get into investing in start-ups and how to make money from it. To date, he has invested in 24 startups, most of which have been sourced from his 9others network and has achieved five exits. These include what3words, Seep, Desmond & Dempsey and exits include FanBytes and NoblyPOS which was acquired by Revolut. He has invested in and negotiated investment transactions from £15k to £50m.His pay-as-you-go model works by saving up some of your own money, investing it across a number of startups, saves up some more, exits or re-invests in the same businesses or new ones to keep his portfolio diverse.His pay as you go model means that he can work full time on this business as well as continuing to run 9others with Katie Lewis, an expert in innovative collaboration for startups.They co-founded 9others, a 5,000+ strong global community of startup founders, in 2011 as a way to connect founders with each other and help to solve problems over a relaxed dinner.It is always you and nine others and he's protected the community from sponsorship in orderto keep the conversation real and authentic between founders and the problems about what keeps them up at night.Matthew and Katie have written a book called Find Your 9others about their experiences and the 10 questions that every founder should ask themselves with lots of stories from businesses along the way.matthew@9others.comwww.9others.comRead the 9others Substack here.

Send us a textIn this inspiring episode, Rino Rappuoli, PhD, a true pioneer in modern vaccinology and recipient of the 2025 Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement, joins Marla Dalton, CAE, and William Schaffner, MD, to explore his groundbreaking work in vaccinology. From his early days in Siena, Italy, to leading the development of life‑saving vaccines against meningitis, pertussis, and influenza, Rappuoli has transformed how vaccines are developed. He shares insights on mentorship, the origins of reverse vaccinology, climate change, and the future role of artificial intelligence in disease prevention. Tune in for a powerful conversation about science, innovation, and the unwavering drive to protect public health.  Show NotesRappuoli is scientific director of the Biotecnopolo di Siena Foundation, Italy, honorary professor of Vaccinology at Imperial College, London, and senior professor of molecular biology at the University of Siena. He was previously head of external R&D and chief scientist at GSK Vaccines and founded the GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health. He earned his PhD in biological sciences at the University of Siena, Italy, and was visiting scientist at Rockefeller University and Harvard Medical School. An elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, he was awarded the Albert B Sabin Gold Medal in 2009. He is currently president of the International Union of Microbiological Societies. Rappuoli is among the world's scientific leaders dedicated to the sustainability of global health and his work has contributed significantly to improving the quality of human life. Follow NFID on social media

Imperial College's mathematical finance head introduces new tool to measure slippage and trade quality

Roshani Abbey is starring as Jean Leslie & Others in the West End production of Operation Mincemeat.Operation Mincemeat premiered on the London Fringe at the New Diorama Theatre in 2019. The show quickly gained a devoted following, and played sold out runs at Southwark Playhouse and Riverside Studios. The musical transferred to the West End in 2023, winning Best New Musical at the Olivier Awards. In addition to its London run, Operation Mincemeat is also playing on Broadway and will soon launch a world tour, opening in Salford next February.Roshani's theatre credits include: Tahlia the Beautiful in Sleeping Beauty (Broadway Theatre Catford), Soloist in Criterion Theatre 150th Anniversary Gala (Criterion Theatre), Marie in In Clay in Concert (The Other Palace), Lucy/cover Juliet in &Juliet (Shaftesbury Theatre), Rumi: The Musical (Concept album / London Coliseum) and Ensemble/cover Louise in Gypsy (Royal Exchange). She played Peggy/Maria in the West End production of Hamilton and went on to become a standby for all three Schuyler Sisters. Earlier this year Roshani returned to Hamilton to star as Eliza for a limited run on the UK & Ireland tour. In this episode Roshani discusses the whirlwind of joining Operation Mincemeat, their journey with the show so far and why it's such a special moment. Roshani also reflects on their path into theatre after studying Mathematics at Imperial College and talks about their history with Hamilton - and lots more pops up along the way!Operation Mincemeat runs in the West End at the Fortune Theatre. Meanwhile the show continues on Broadway and is about to launch a world tour. Visit www.operationmincemeat.com for info and tickets. This podcast is hosted by Andrew Tomlins @AndrewTomlins32 Thanks for listening! Email: andrew@westendframe.co.uk Visit westendframe.co.uk for more info about our podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inchiesta sull’urbanistica a Milano: il Pd appoggia Sala ma con l’invito a dare "segnali di cambiamento”. Oggi il sindaco in Consiglio Comunale per ribadire la propria estraneità ai fatti e proseguire il mandato. Attese invece le dimissioni dell’assessore Tancredi. Sentiamo Sara Monaci de Il Sole 24 Ore. West Nile, una donna morta in provincia di Roma. Facciamo chiarezza con Andrea Crisanti, microbiologo, docente all’Imperial College di Londra, senatore Pd, autore di “Reazione genetica a catena. Capovolgere le regole dell'evoluzione” (Il Mulino).

What if you finally had a road map to your psychology?This week Alex shares a talk he gave at the MRC institute at Imperial College - Personality: How the Science of Who We Are Can Help Us Lead Better Lives.This talk describes how we can define personality, why its useful to have an understand of personality for career, relationships and quality of life, how personality affects our political leanings and much more. This lecture is also available on youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yI1EJfP1zgDr. Alex Curmi is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.Alex's TedX talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JvG10zQups&t=52sIf you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingmindblog/p/thinking-mind-blog-big-thoughts-edition?r=1cn09u&utm_medium=iosGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

In this episode, regional experts of the Middle East share their knowledge about Syria's healthcare system and how it has been affected by years of conflict. Based on research from the book "Everybody's War: Politics of Aid in the Syria Crisis," (published by Oxford University Press), our guests provide thoughtful analysis of several important issues:The connection between healthcare provision and questions of state legitimacyHow Syria's once-unified healthcare system became fragmented during the warThe complex dynamics of delivering humanitarian aid in a polarized conflict environmentThe discussion examines the practical and ethical challenges facing healthcare workers and aid organizations operating in contexts where corruption and restricted access are common.  The experts provide an informative overview for listeners interested in understanding the intersection of healthcare delivery, conflict, and humanitarian response in complex emergency settings.This episode offers valuable insights into how humanitarian assistance functions within the broader political and economic realities of the Syrian crisis.Omar Dewachi is associate professor at Rutgers University whose work is at the intersections of global health, history of medicine and political anthropology. His scholarship focuses on the human and environmental manifestations of decades of conflict and military interventions in Iraq and the broader Middle East. Duncan McLean is a senior researcher for Doctors Without Borders . He has published widely on the humanitarian sector and has contributed chapters to book publications Saving Lives and Staying Alive, The Politics of Fear, and Everybody's War. Dr. Mclean holds a PhD in history and has lectured at several universities in the Czech Republic, France and the UK, focusing on epidemiological and colonial history.Aula Abbara is a consultant in Infectious Diseases/ General Internal Medicine at Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust, London and an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Imperial College. She teaches and supervises students on the Global Health BSc course at Imperial College and the TMIH at LSHTM. #Syria #Healthcare #HumanitarianCrisis #MiddleEast #ForeignAidSupport the showSupport the Center for Security, Race and Rights by following us and making a donation: Donate: https://give.rutgersfoundation.org/csrr-support/20046.html Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rucsrr Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/rutgerscsrr Follow us on Threads: https://threads.com/rutgerscsrr Follow us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/rucsrr Follow us on TikTok: https://tiktok.com/rucsrr Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://csrr.rutgers.edu/newsroom/sign-up-for-newsletter/

The Prime Minister has launched a 'new era' for the NHS that aims to move away from reactive care in hospitals to preventing illness through community services. It's an ambitious plan and one with a lot of ambition and a lot of unknowns. James Gallagher discusses the plans with Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King's Fund, an independent think tank working to improve health and care across England, and Sally Gainsbury, Senior Policy Analyst at the Nuffield Trust, specialising in evidence-based research on health and social care provision in the UK.Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being touted as a way to improve efficiency and save money in the 10 Year Plan and every day in healthcare there are headlines about new AI-driven tools that could revolutionise medicine. In a new mini-series, James hears about different ways AI is being used starting with heart scans that use AI to analyse large amounts of data to predict health outcomes in a way that would be near impossible for a human to achieve. He talks to Dr Arunashis Sau from the National Heart & Lung Institute at Imperial College, London.Also, with a 200-year-old condom made from a sheep's insides attracting crowds to the Rijksmuseum in The Netherlands, James finds out about the history of condoms with cultural historian Dr Kate Stephenson.Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Tom Bonnett Additional production: Ella Hubber Editors: Glyn Tansley and Martin Smith

Μια μελέτη-σταθμός από το Imperial College του Λονδίνου απέδωσε 1.500 θανάτους κατά τη διάρκεια του καύσωνα στην Ελλάδα και την νοτια Ευρώπη, την περασμένη εβδομάδα, απευθείας στην προκαλούμενη από τον συγχρονο πολιτισμό μας και τον ανθρώπινο παράγοντα κλιματική αλλαγή. Είναι η πρώτη μελέτη που συσχετίζει άμεσα και δεν συνδέει μόνο την κλιματική αλλαγή με τα καιρικά φαινόμενα, αλλά την συνδέει άμεσα με τους θανάτους ανθρώπων.

I'm beyond excited to share our latest podcast episode with you. This time, I had the pleasure of chatting with the incredible Maddi Holman, the general partner of Daring Ventures and the host of her own podcast, "Let's Be Heard." Maddi's journey from aspiring doctor to venture capitalist is nothing short of inspiring, and I can't wait for you to hear her story.Here are some of the key takeaways and intriguing insights from our conversation:

We are surrounded by bold claims and quick fixes for ‘boosting' our immune health. But one thing the science is clear on is that everyone's immune system is unique – what is good for one person may not work well for another. So how do we separate the bogus claims from the useful advice? Head of Life Sciences and Professor of Immunology at Imperial College, Daniel Davis, helps us sort the facts from the fiction. From the genetics of immune health to the myth of Vitamin C, from evidence-backed studies on chronic stress to the gaps in knowledge on sleep and microbiome health, Daniel reveals what scientists do know for certain—and what still needs more answers—to help us make informed choices for ourselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Digital Marketing Podcast, Daniel, Ciaran, and Louise take a deep dive into the often-misunderstood world of keyword research - one of the most foundational yet complex elements of digital marketing. What starts as a seemingly simple task (“just pick some keywords, right?”) quickly unravels into a minefield of audience intent, brand positioning, search behaviour shifts, and the sometimes soul-crushing reality of traffic that doesn't convert. The trio break down the full process with real-world insight, humour, and some very candid reflections on what not to do. From teaching postgraduate students at Imperial College to running real commercial SEO campaigns, Daniel shares his evolving approach to keyword strategy - highlighting how brand clarity, buyer personas, and mapping the full user journey are essential to getting keyword research right. What you'll learn in this episode: Why volume-based keyword selection is a trap How to balance traffic, intent, and competition in your keyword choices Why middle-of-the-funnel content is often your secret weapon How to prune and optimise your existing content for better conversions The problem with vanity metrics (and what to track instead) How new AI-powered tools like Content Raptor and Keywords Everywhere are changing the game The role of search across Google, YouTube, social and even email What to look for in competitor analysis and how to use keyword clustering effectively Louise brings sharp insight into modern search behaviour and the growing importance of voice, conversational search, and featured snippets, while Ciaran opens up about years of chasing traffic volume before realising conversions are what truly count. (Spoiler: a blog about banana peels and Botox might bring in traffic—but probably not sales.) The episode ends with a step-by-step process for approaching keyword research in 2025, including content ideation, testing, SEO hooks, and how to integrate what you learn across multiple marketing channels. Key Takeaways: Keyword research isn't about finding more keywords - it's about finding the right ones. Strategic alignment between brand, content, and intent is critical. Most marketers overinvest in top-of-funnel traffic and neglect conversion-focused content. Updating and optimising your existing content can often move the needle more than publishing something new. A good keyword is one that drives results - not just visits. With tools, frameworks, and honest advice, this episode is your ultimate keyword research sanity-check. Whether you're building a content strategy from scratch or refining an existing one, this is the guide you didn't know you needed.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the decisive role of one of the great 20th Century physicists in solving the question of nuclear fission. It is said that Meitner (1878-1968) made this breakthrough over Christmas 1938 while she was sitting on a log in Sweden during a snowy walk with her nephew Otto Frisch (1904-79). Both were Jewish-Austrian refugees who had only recently escaped from Nazi Germany. Others had already broken uranium into the smaller atom barium, but could not explain what they found; was the larger atom bursting, or the smaller atom being chipped off or was something else happening? They turned to Meitner. She, with Frisch, deduced the nucleus really was splitting like a drop of water into a dumbbell shape, with the electrical charges at each end forcing the divide, something previously thought impossible, and they named this ‘fission'. This was a crucial breakthrough for which Meitner was eventually widely recognised if not at first.WithJess Wade A Royal Society University Research Fellow and Lecturer in Functional Materials at Imperial College, LondonFrank Close Professor Emeritus of Theoretical Physics and Fellow Emeritus at Exeter College, University of OxfordAnd Steven Bramwell Director of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Professor of Physics at University College LondonProducer: Simon TillotsonReading list:Frank Close, Destroyer of Worlds: The Deep History of the Nuclear Age, 1895-1965 (Allen Lane, 2025)Ruth Lewin Sime, Lise Meitner: A Life in Physics (University of California Press, 1996)Marissa Moss, The Woman Who Split the Atom: The Life of Lise Meitner (Abrams Books, 2022)Patricia Rife, Lise Meitner and the Dawn of the Nuclear Age (Birkhauser Verlag, 1999) In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

Have you ever wondered how much of your success is down to luck? What if the world is far less fair and predictable than we'd like to think? On this episode, I explore the complex and fascinating role of luck in our lives and decisions with Dr. Chengwei Liu, Associate Professor of Strategy and Behavioural Science at Imperial College London. Chengwei shares how his research challenges our assumptions about skill, effort, and fairness – and why the outcomes we see are often far more random than we'd like to believe. We discuss why many successful strategies and best practices are built on shaky ground, and how our tendency to downplay luck creates illusions of control and reinforces unfair systems. Chengwei explains how beliefs in fairness – like the ‘just world' hypothesis – shape everything from business cultures to political systems, and how luck and misperceptions of it can create cycles of privilege or disadvantage. Chengwei also shares practical insights on how to become a smart contrarian: someone who can harness the power of randomness and serendipity while avoiding the pitfalls of bias and overconfidence. From the dangers of blindly following the ‘successful' to the need to look inward and embrace uniqueness, it's a thought-provoking conversation that will change the way you think about risk, decision-making, and what it really means to get ahead. Guest BiographyDr. Chengwei Liu is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Behavioural Science at Imperial College London. He describes himself as someone fascinated by how luck, randomness, and human biases shape success and failure – both in business and in broader society. Chengwei's work challenges mainstream management thinking and explores how much of what we attribute to skill is actually the result of random factors. His book, Luck: A Key Idea for Business and Society, examines these dynamics and how we can learn to navigate them. Beyond his academic roles, Chengwei has also worked as a management consultant, drawing on his experience in both research and practice to uncover how to harness luck and uncertainty. AI-Generated Timestamped Summary[00:00:00] Introduction[00:02:00] Chengwei explains his research focus on randomness and variance in firm performance [00:04:00] The overlooked 50% of variance in outcomes: luck and randomness [00:06:00] Defining luck as what lies beyond our control and foresight [00:08:00] The conflict between fairness beliefs and the reality of luck [00:10:00] Luck's societal implications: why fairness perceptions differ across countries [00:11:00] Skill versus luck – how we confuse the two in our narratives [00:13:00] Why successful people over-attribute their success to skill [00:15:00] Managers vs entrepreneurs: how they differ in acknowledging luck [00:17:00] The challenges of researching an elusive concept like luck [00:18:00] Using mathematical models to understand Black Swan events [00:20:00] Why successful predictions of Black Swan events don't indicate forecasting skill [00:23:00] The problem with best practices from ‘successful' firms [00:26:00] Selection bias in business books and the danger of survivor bias [00:29:00] The ‘too good to be true' heuristic as a guide [00:31:00] Contrarian thinking as a survival strategy for uncertainty [00:33:00] The replication crisis and the problem with social science predictability [00:35:00] Human curiosity: the power of moderate surprises [00:37:00] The difference between luck and serendipity [00:39:00] How to encourage serendipity in our lives [00:41:00] Embracing uniqueness and avoiding conformity [00:44:00] Lessons for the age of AI and human creativity [00:46:00] The dangers of ignoring randomness: when biases become destructive [00:48:00] Exploiting others' biases for strategic advantage [00:50:00] Why ‘smart contrarian' thinking is more important than ever [00:53:00] Testing contrarian ideas like a scientist [00:56:00] The limits of trial and error: learning from mistakes [00:58:00] Chengwei's ongoing research: minority decision-making in venture capital [01:00:00] How passion and variance link to VC investment strategies [01:02:00] Wrapping up with reflections on luck, curiosity, and human creativity LinksDr. Chengwei Liu's book, Luck: A Key Idea for Business and Society: https://www.routledge.com/Luck-A-Key-Idea-for-Business-and-Society/Liu/p/book/9781138094260? Chengwei Liu's Imperial College faculty webpage: https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/c.liu

Ambitious climate policies may overlook practical constraints. Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar Niall Mac Dowell explores what deliverable paths to net zero might require. --- The Earth’s average temperature surpassed the 1.5°C threshold for the first time in 2024—a milestone driven in part by El Niño, but also a stark warning about our broader climate trajectory. While temperatures may moderate slightly in 2025, the world remains far from taking the decisive action needed to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change. The obstacles to meaningful progress are complex, spanning economics, politics at local and global levels, and questions of technological scalability. The good news is that these are solvable challenges. Yet, despite our collective capacity, we’ve struggled to overcome the headwinds that continue to slow decisive climate action. On the podcast, Niall Mac Dowell, visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center and professor of Future Energy Systems at Imperial College London, takes stock of where we are now. His work focuses on the transition to a low-carbon economy, with recent research exploring the feasibility of clean energy development projections and the role negative emissions could play in achieving net-zero goals. He shares his perspective on what it will take to move more decisively toward a sustainable energy future. Niall Mac Dowell is Professor of Future Energy Systems at Imperial College London. Related Content Has Europe’s Emissions Trading Scheme Taken Away a Country’s Ability to Reduce Emissions? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/has-europes-emissions-trading-scheme-taken-away-a-countrys-ability-to-reduce-emissions/ Closing the Climate Finance Gap: A Proposal for a New Green Investment Protocol https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/closing-the-climate-finance-gap-a-proposal-for-a-new-green-investment-protocol/ Climate Action in the Age of Great Power Rivalry: What Geopolitics Means for Climate https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/climate-action-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry-what-geopolitics-means-for-the-climate/ Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the Round 2 activity on LiveWire; UNC / Kenan Flagler, Yale SOM and Georgetown / McDonough were among the top MBA programs scheduled to release Round 2 decisions last week. For this upcoming week, IESE, Harvard Business School, Northwestern / Kellogg, Columbia, Chicago / Booth, Berkeley / Haas, UCLA / Anderson, Texas / McCombs, Washington / Foster, Boston College / Carroll, Michigan State / Broad, Imperial College and London Business School are releasing their final decisions. Graham highlighted the Spring Survey that Clear Admit conducts each season. These surveys are important to understand the decisions of each applicant cohort. Here is the link for this season's survey: https://bit.ly/casurvey25 Graham noted that we have now nearly finalized the line-up for our Application Overview series of virtual events in May. These events will be hosted on May 6 and 7, and May 20 and 21. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/appoverview25 Sandwiched in the middle of these events is Clear Admit's MBA admissions fair in Boston, on May 14th. Twenty-four of the top 25 U.S.-based MBA programs are planning to attend. Signups for this event are here: https://bit.ly/mbafair2025 May truly kicks off the new season of MBA admissions at Clear Admit! Graham mentioned a recently published admissions tip that offers a primer on the Executive Assessment test. This article is a result of the queries we are seeing on the Ask Clear Admit AI bot tool. Graham then highlighted a Real Humans alumni spotlight, an alum from NYU / Stern working at PepsiCo. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three DecisionWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate is choosing between Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, and UVA / Darden. They want to work in consulting on the west coast after business school. This week's second MBA candidate is choosing between Chicago / Booth's EMBA program and Cambridge / Judge's full-time program. They are from Japan and wish to begin a career in the United States. The final MBA candidate is deciding between Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, and Michigan / Ross. They want to work in tech in New York City. They have a $100k scholarship offer from Ross, and a $30k offer from Johnson. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

GOOD EVENING: SPECIAL REPORT: THE FIRES OF LA. From the Mexican Border to the Hughes Fire north of Santa Clarita. #PacificWatch: #VegasReport:  @JCBliss. 1930 Australia CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR FIRST HOUR 9-915 #UKRAINE: Can Europe field a military deployment to Ukraine? Anatol Lieven, Quincy Institute 915-930 #UKRAINE: Can Europe field a military deployment to Ukraine? Anatol Lieven, Quincy Institute 930-945 BIG TECH: Back to the office. #SCALAREPORT: Chris Riegel CEO, Scala.com @Stratacache 945-1000 #NAVY: Overruns and delays for the Constellation Class & & What is to be done? SECOND HOUR 10-1015 #Anti-semitism: The global poll alarm. Marian Rosenberg, ADL, Malcolm Hoenlein @Conf_of_pres @mhoenlein1 1015-1030 #ISRAEL: Ceasefire pause. Or Issachar, IDSF.org, Malcolm Hoenlein @Conf_of_pres @mhoenlein1 1030-1045 #HOSTAGES: Held in an UNWRA Shelter. Malcolm Hoenlein @Conf_of_pres @mhoenlein1 1045-1100 Allies: Azerbaijan to join Abraham Accords. Zeev Khanin, Bar-Ilan University. Malcolm Hoenlein @Conf_of_pres @mhoenlein1 THIRD HOUR 1100-1115 #VENEZUELA: Trading sanctions for oil and migrants. Mary Anastasia O'Grady, WSJ 1115-1130 #ELECTRICITY: Data Center demands on the brittle grid. Bud Weinstein, RealClearEnergy 1130-1145 #GAZA: Hamas celebrates & What is to be done? Cliff May FDD 1145-1200 #UKRAINE: Deal-making with the needful Kremlin. Russell Berman, Hoover Institution FOURTH HOUR 12-1215 #CANADA: The imminent election. Conrad Black, National Post 1215-1230 #QUANTUM COMPUTING RACE. BRANDON WEICHERT, NATIONAL INTEREST 1230-1245 1/2: #HOTEL MARS; Mars Sample Return by 2040. David Southwood, Imperial College. David Livingston 1245-100 am 2/2: #HOTEL MARS; Mars Sample Return by 2040. David Southwood, Imperial College. David Livingston

1/2: #HOTEL MARS; Mars Sample Return by 2040. David Southwood, Imperial College. David Livingston 1920

2/2: #HOTEL MARS; Mars Sample Return by 2040. David Southwood, Imperial College. David Livingston 1925

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson sits down with author and founder of the Flow Genome Project, Jamie Wheal. They discuss the death of God as it can be understood in the secular world, the new rise of Pharisees across mainstream religions, how to guard the proper aim against human corruption, and the true pathology of the culture wars — and who is leading it downward. Jamie Wheal is the author of “Recapture the Rapture: Rethinking God, Sex and Death In a World That's Lost Its Mind” and the Pulitzer-nominated “Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley,” “Navy SEALs,” and “Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work.” He is also the founder of the Flow Genome Project, an international organization dedicated to the research and training of peak performance. His work and ideas have been covered in The New York Times, Financial Times, Wired, Entrepreneur, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Inc., and TED. He has spoken at Stanford University, MIT, the Harvard Club, Imperial College, Singularity University, the U.S. Naval War College and Special Operations Command, Sandhurst Royal Military Academy, the Bohemian Club, and the United Nations. This episode was filmed on September 8th, 2024  - Links - For Jamie Wheal: “Recapture the Rapture” (Book) https://www.recapturetherapture.com/ Flow Genome Project https://www.flowgenomeproject.com/