Eureka! @OSU: Recent Episodes
Rakesh Murugesan & Pratham Ingale
Join us as we explore all the amazing research and creative inquiry going on at Ohio State, from comics to contemporary dance to cancer medicine.đź’ˇ
Dr. Angus Fletcher is a Professor of Story Science at Ohio State’s Project Narrative, the world’s leading academic think-tank for the study of how stories work. He study neurophysiology at the University of Michigan, then pursued a PhD in Literature at Yale, and received additional training at Stanford in Narrative Theory. Throughout his career has done highly creative collaborative research with Pixar, the US Army, UPenn, Sony, the BBC and more, and has received funding from the NSF, The Mellon Foundation, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Â
We had a fantastic time speaking with Dr. Fletcher and left with a highly transformed take on the world, from an appreciation to the life paths we take, to the importance of always trusting your gut. His natural curiosity and free spirit is infectious, and we hope you get to experience it listening along too! :)
Dr. Noel Paul is a an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and teaches the popular Organic Chemistry Lab courses. Dr. Paul received the Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teaching by a Lecturer Award, and indeed he is a favorite among students.
We are excited to present to your our conversation with him. We dive into his interest in organic chemistry, the intersectionality between the arts and sciences, the wonders of the universe, the importance of mentorship, and the crucial role of teaching. PLUS, watch until the end for a special story (featuring Ghost Chili's đź‘€). We hope you enjoy!
We bring you our conversation with Dr. Tanya Berger-Wolf! As a computational ecologist, her research is at the unique intersection of computer science, wildlife biology, and social sciences. Dr. Berger-Wolf is also a director and co-founder of the Artificial Intelligence for wildlife conservation software non-profit Wild Me, home of the Wildbook project. Wildbook has been featured in media, including Forbes, National Geographic, The New York Times, and CNN.
Dr. Berger-Wolf’s work has made easier the lives of hundreds of ecologists around the world (though she’s too humble to admit). Her story goes to show that inspiration is everywhere, and that with dedication and hard work even you can help solve the world’s crises.
Dr. Valarie Williams is a professor of Dance at OSU and a University Senator for the Division of Arts and Humanities. She was a 1987 Presidential Scholars in the Arts honorable mention and is a certified dance notator. Her research collaborations, Archiving Black Performance and Dance2U#mentalhealth, bring together critical conversations that drive global societal change, and she has received prestigious accolades and extensive funding for this academic work. Additionally, she has taught and set works around the world from Peru, Ecuador, China, and Indonesia.
In this conversation, we speak with Dr. Williams on how dance allows her to study people and culture in a unique way. We also discuss the science of Labonotation - think sheet-music but for dance - and how it is applied in the modern day! Finally, we cover her work bringing to light social issues through the medium of dance and the qualities of dance that allow for it to unify people.
Dr. Aldama is the Chair of Humanities at the University of Texas Austin and an adjunct distinguished faculty member at The Ohio State University. He is an award-winning author and editor of over 40 books, has directed a documentary on LatinX Superheros featured on Amazon Prime, and has received recognition from the Obama administration for his initiative LASER.
In this conversation, we sought to learn more about his incredibly interesting research on how various forms of media, including TV shows and comic books, can influence racial perspectives, teenage development and more. We also discuss his motivations for his work, as well as the impact of some of his initiatives. Hope you guys enjoy!