Driven to Discover: Recent Episodes
University at Buffalo
A podcast that explores innovative University at Buffalo research through candid conversations with the researchers about their inspirations and goals.
Although Min-Hsuan Tu grew up wanting to be a teacher, she followed her parents’ advice and pursued a business degree instead. But her interest in human interaction never faded—and when a chance meeting with a classmate introduced her to the field of organizational behavior, she recognized it as the perfect fit.
Now an associate professor of organization and human resources in the University at Buffalo’s School of Management, Tu studies workplace challenges that resonate widely, in part because her research draws on her real-world experiences. In this episode, she shares with host Jay Rey what she’s learned about managing everyday stressors—from never-ending to-do lists to the difficulty of unplugging at the end of the day—offering practical strategies to lead a more balanced, fulfilling life at work and beyond.
Credits:
Host: Jay Rey
Guest: Min-Hsuan Tu
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
As a first-year med student, Elad Levy tried to balance competitive rowing with the demands of school. But he quickly came to realize he couldn’t pursue both at the highest level. He chose medicine, discovered neurosurgery—and was soon on a path to transforming the field.
Now the L. Nelson Hopkins Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Levy was instrumental in establishing a new standard of care for stroke and continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible. In this episode, he talks with host Ellen Goldbaum about the resistance he and his colleagues faced in the early days of stroke intervention, what it was like to implant one of the first brain-computer interfaces in a patient with paralysis, and his current push toward a future in which brain surgery requires no incisions.
Credits:
Host: Ellen Goldbaum
Guest: Elad Levy
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
Lucia Leone’s interest in nutrition began in childhood, as she watched her mother—without a car and on a limited income—still manage to put healthy meals on the table. Now an associate professor of community health and health behavior at the University at Buffalo, Leone studies how to make nutritious eating achievable for families facing similar barriers. In this episode, she joins host David Hill to explain why simply expanding access to food is not enough to ensure nutrition security. She discusses community-based interventions like mobile produce vans and food prescription programs, and what her research reveals about why some efforts succeed while others fall short. She also challenges misconceptions about SNAP and the people it serves, and examines what it will take at the societal level to close the food gap for good.
Credits:
Host: David Hill
Guest: Lucia Leone
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
Frank Scannapieco wasn’t too interested in school as a kid; he went to college largely because his father insisted. But a few inspiring teachers, a growing fascination with biology and a chance encounter with oral microbiology set him on a path that would lead to an internationally recognized career. In this episode, Laurie Kaiser talks with Scannapieco, a SUNY Distinguished Professor in the University at Buffalo’s School of Dental Medicine, about his pioneering research linking oral health to systemic diseases such as pneumonia, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. He explains—in plain terms—how inflammation and bacteria in the mouth can affect the rest of the body, why dentistry and medicine have long been disconnected, and what simple steps we can all take to protect our oral and overall health as we age.
Credits:
Host: Laurie Kaiser
Guest: Frank Scannapieco
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
Growing up in a multigenerational household, Carleara Weiss was a caregiver from the start. But as she lay awake at night listening to her elders snore, she didn’t realize those sounds were signs of obstructive sleep apnea—or that OSA is linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Now, as an assistant professor of nursing at the University at Buffalo and a nationally recognized sleep researcher, Weiss is advancing our understanding of how sleep affects the brain. In this episode, she talks with host Cheryl Quimba about why sleep is essential, what happens when we don’t get enough of it, and how disrupted sleep can contribute to cognitive decline. She also breaks down her latest research and shares practical strategies for getting a better night’s rest.
Weiss is currently recruiting for two studies related to sleep, aging and Alzheimer’s. If interested, please contact Ayesha Rahman at 716-829-3218.
Credits:
Host: Cheryl Quimba
Guest: Carleara Weiss
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
Not all chatbots are created equal. Some, like those used in customer service, are relatively simple. Others—like the systems Rohini Srihari builds—can take on far more complex tasks, such as giving a voice to someone with ALS who has lost the ability to speak. In this episode, Srihari, an artificial intelligence pioneer at the University at Buffalo, shares how she combines her love of language with computer science to create AI-based tools that not only help people with motor neuron diseases communicate, but also address the nation’s mental health crisis, predict the flow of refugees, and even assist choreographers in creating new works. As she tells host Cory Nealon, this work represents just the beginning of how AI can be harnessed for the public good.
Credits:
Host: Cory Nealon
Guest: Rohini Srihari
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
As a Peace Corps volunteer in Nigeria in his early 20s, Phillips Stevens witnessed an act of sorcery that blew his mind. He turned that moment into a 50-year career as a cultural anthropologist at the University at Buffalo, exploring religion, spirituality and the supernatural in cultures across the world. In this episode, Stevens joins host Tom Dinki to share insights from his new book, “Rethinking the Anthropology of Magic and Witchcraft: Inherently Human.” He explains why magical thinking isn’t a relic of the past—it’s hardwired into us, a survival strategy that still shapes how we navigate the unknown and process the unthinkable. From common superstitions and religious rituals to conspiracy theories like QAnon, Stevens shows how belief in magic and witchcraft persists, and what makes it inherently human.
Credits:
Host: Tom Dinki
Guest: Phillips Stevens
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
Inspired by his grandfather’s service as a volunteer fire chief, Joshua Lynch joined the fire department at 18 and was soon patrolling the streets of Buffalo as an EMT. At the same time, he was pursuing a path to medical school as a psychology major at the University at Buffalo. That blend of frontline emergency response and human-centered health care became the hallmark of his career. Today, Lynch is a professor of emergency medicine at UB, a medical director for Mercy Flight and several volunteer fire departments, and the founder and chief medical officer of MATTERS—a multistate program that has transformed the delivery of care to people with opioid use disorder. In this episode, Lynch talks with host Laura Silverman about the personal losses that fueled his commitment to addiction medicine, why quick, barrier-free access to treatment is essential, and how MATTERS has grown from a Buffalo-based pilot into a national model for tackling the opioid epidemic.
Credits:
Host: Laura Silverman
Guest: Joshua Lynch
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
Bullied as a kid, Nick Henshue spent much of his childhood roaming the woods behind his house, fueling a love for nature that propels him to this day. Now an associate teaching professor of ecology at UB, and co-director of the EarthEd Institute, Henshue is an expert in restoration and soil ecology, with a primary focus on earthworms. He is also a passionate and celebrated educator. His conversation with host Cheryl Quimba dives deep into earthworm ecology, and it is fascinating—a testament both to the surprising complexity of this humble creature and to the remarkable talent Henshue has (he calls it his “superpower”) to engage and entertain while teaching about the natural world.
Credits:
Host: Cheryl Quimba
Guest: Nick Henshue
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
Nicole Albanese grew up in a holistic household that emphasized diet over drugs. Now, as a clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice at the University at Buffalo, she embraces medication—but as only one piece of the overall health puzzle. In this episode, Albanese, whose research focuses on diabetes, obesity and nutrition, talks to host Laurie Kaiser about the pros and cons of modern weight-loss drugs. Their conversation covers everything from unforeseen side effects to unexpected health benefits, with discussions along the way on how these drugs work, why they’re so hugely popular, what prevents most users from achieving long-term success, and what’s next on the horizon. Hint: It won’t be long before we’re looking back on Ozempic and Wegovy as weight-loss drugs 1.0.
Credits:
Host: Laurie Kaiser
Guest: Nicole Albanese
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
Since his band teacher went alphabetically by last name, Jeff Scott’s choices were limited when it came his turn to pick an instrument. The sixth grader pointed to the French horn—and the rest is history. Today, Scott is one of the nation’s premier French horn players and a Grammy-winning composer. Among other accomplishments, he’s played on Broadway, toured with the likes of Barbra Streisand and Ray Charles, and co-founded a world-renowned woodwind quintet. In this laughter-filled episode, Scott tells host Cory Nealon about his unlikely path to musical success, his experiences on the road with A-list artists, what it felt like to win a Grammy, and how his multicultural upbringing in Queens, N.Y., shaped the urban classical music he shares with the world today.
Credits:
Host: Cory Nealon
Guest: Jeff Scott
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
As a young girl growing up in suburban Los Angeles, Joyce Hwang loved seeing how urban animals would create little moments of disorder in the highly manicured landscape. Now the intersection between animals and the built environment is at the very heart of her work as a professor of architecture at the University at Buffalo and as director of the ecologically focused practice Ants of the Prairie. Hwang’s projects, from bat towers to bee elevators to multispecies installations, have been on display throughout the world and have won multiple awards. In this episode, she talks to host David Hill about incorporating animals into our constructed spaces—what it entails, why it’s critical (for us as well as them), and what everyday people can do to make their homes and yards more accommodating to our non-human friends.
Credits:
Host: David Hill
Guest: Joyce Hwang
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
As a young clinical audiologist, Henry Louis Taylor Jr. found that the socioeconomic realities of many of his Black patients affected his ability to help them. To truly serve his community, he realized, he would need to understand the root causes of their circumstances. So he quit his job and went back to school to study urban history. Now, as the founding director of UB’s Center for Urban Studies at the School of Architecture and Planning, and associate director of the Community Health Equity Research Institute at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Taylor is on a mission to reverse the historic inequities that have created such a wide gap between Black lives and white lives. In this episode, the self-proclaimed activist scholar talks to host Ellen Goldbaum about his latest and most ambitious effort: The East Side Neighborhood Transformation Project.
Credits:
Host: Ellen Golbaum
Guest: Henry Louis Taylor Jr.
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
Obsessed with true crime shows as a teen, Mary Bush naturally gravitated toward forensics as a young professor in the University at Buffalo’s School of Dental Medicine. Today, she is widely acclaimed for her efforts to banish bitemark evidence from the U.S. court system. She has won numerous research awards, served as an expert witness for high-profile murder cases and testified before Congress. Her research tools, once viciously mocked by prosecutors, are currently on display at the Smithsonian Institution. In this episode, Bush talks to host Laurie Kaiser about the fascinating life of a forensic dentist, which in her case has included writing crime novels and appearing on Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries.”
Credits:
Host: Laurie Kaiser
Guest: Mary Bush
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming this fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break for the summer. We’ll be back in early September with a new slate of UB innovators discussing what sparked their passion for their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
As a kid, all Vincent Lynch wanted to do was hang out by the river near his home, fishing and crabbing and playing in the muck. School, by contrast, was a bore. Then he discovered biology—and never looked back. Today, as an evolutionary biologist at the University at Buffalo, Lynch studies the genomic history of animals both living and extinct to understand everything from why elephants don’t get cancer to why women go into labor. In this episode of Driven to Discover, Lynch talks to host Tom Dinki about what it means to run a “curiosity-driven” lab, why resurrecting extinct species is a bad idea, and how analyzing animal genes could help humans lead longer, healthier lives.
Credits:
Host: Tom Dinki
Guest: Vincent Lynch
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming on Nov. 5: Forensic dentist Mary Bush is a leading expert on bitemark evidence. She speaks to host Laurie Kaiser about her efforts to eradicate this faulty science from the U.S. court system, explains why victim identification is important work, and shares how she ended up on Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries.”
Narcissists get a bad rap, but is it deserved? According to Emily Grijalva, an associate professor of organizational behavior at the University at Buffalo School of Management and a renowned expert on narcissism, it’s complicated. Grijalva has spent her career studying the trait—among leaders, across genders, over the lifetime and through the generations. She’s even studied narcissism inside the NBA. In this episode, she speaks to host Laura Silverman about the pros and cons of narcissism, how to cope with a narcissistic boss, why men are more prone to narcissism than women, and the truth behind every generation’s belief that “kids today” are more narcissistic than ever (spoiler alert: they’re not).
Credits:
Host: Laura Silverman
Guest: Emily Grijalva
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming on Oct. 1: Evolutionary biologist Vincent Lynch studies the genetic histories of animals to better understand problems like infertility and cancer in humans. He speaks to host Tom Dinki about the discoveries he’s made and their potential to help people lead longer, healthier lives.
More than 750 older Americans are hospitalized every day due to severe side effects from their medications. Many of them will die prematurely as a result. In this episode of Driven to Discover, host Laurie Kaiser talks to David Jacobs, an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the University at Buffalo, about the systemic failures in our health care system driving this alarming trend, and how he and other members of an interdisciplinary initiative called Team Alice are working to reverse it. Jacobs recounts the story of Alice Brennan, the vibrant, 88-year-old woman for whom Team Alice is named; explains how the team has grown over the years to involve researchers from across the university as well as the greater community; and shares what individuals can do now to keep themselves and their loved ones safe from medication-related harm.
Credits:
Host: Laura Kaiser
Guest: David Jacobs
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming next year: Driven to Discover is taking a break over the summer. We will be back in late August with a whole new slate of UB experts and innovators discussing what drove them to focus their life’s work on their subject and what makes their research meaningful for the world at large.
Food has become an increasingly fraught subject in America. Is paleo good for you? Keto? Should everyone be intermittent fasting? Meanwhile, an increasing number of Americans under 50 are being diagnosed with cancer, particularly colon cancer. Is our diet the problem? In this episode of Driven to Discover, Dave Hill talks to public health researcher Danielle Meyer, a board-certified specialist in oncology nutrition and director of the undergraduate program in nutrition at the University at Buffalo, about these issues and more. A refreshingly honest and nonjudgmental spokesperson for food in all its varieties, Meyer dispels common myths, exonerates the downtrodden potato and eliminates grocery cart guilt for good.
Credits:
Host: David Hill
Guest: Danielle Meyer
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming on April 30: More than 750 older Americans are hospitalized every day due to severe side effects from their medications. Many of them will die prematurely as a result. Pharmacy researcher David Jacobs breaks down the systemic failures behind this disturbing trend and explains how Team Alice, a multidisciplinary initiative that he co-leads, is working to reverse it.
When social work researcher Patricia Logan-Greene sought out introductory readings for her students on the topic of gun violence, she was shocked to find there weren’t any. Every day, social workers are in the homes of those most at risk of gun violence. Who better to prevent it? Now Logan-Greene, an associate professor at the University at Buffalo and an expert on violence and victimization, is co-leading a national initiative to put social workers front and center in the effort to make people safe in a country rife with firearms. In this episode, host Vicky Santos talks to Logan-Greene about the scourge of gun violence in America (mass shootings are a tiny fraction of the problem), the immeasurable impact it is having on our collective mental health, and why social workers are uniquely positioned to help stop it without restricting anyone’s Second Amendment rights.
Credits:
Host: Vicky Santos
Guest: Patricia Logan-Greene
Writer/Producer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming on April 30: More than 750 older Americans are hospitalized every day due to severe side effects from their medications. Many of them will die prematurely as a result. Pharmacy researcher David Jacobs breaks down the systemic failures behind this disturbing trend and explains how Team Alice, a multidisciplinary initiative that he co-leads, is working to reverse it.
Working nights during college as a bouncer, Mark Frank discovered he could learn a lot about people by observing their facial expressions and body language. Now, as a professor of communication at the University at Buffalo, he’s an internationally recognized expert on nonverbal communication who advises the FBI and CIA on interviewing techniques and whose research helped inspire the TV crime drama “Lie to Me.” In this episode of Driven to Discover, Frank talks to host Tom Dinki about the involuntary gestures and expressions that give our real feelings away, the universally accepted yet completely bogus connection between eye contact and the truth, and why building rapport is the best way to snag a criminal.
Credits:
Host: Tom Dinki
Guest: Mark Frank
Writer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming on April 30: More than 750 older Americans are hospitalized every day due to severe side effects from their medications. Many of them will die prematurely as a result. Pharmacy researcher David Jacobs breaks down the systemic failures behind this disturbing trend and explains how Team Alice, a multidisciplinary initiative that he co-leads, is working to reverse it.
Jinjun Xiong was a young computer scientist working on AI technology at IBM when the company’s Watson computer famously beat the top human players on “Jeopardy!”. But while the rest of the world oohed and aahed, Xiong wondered if we should be using AI for a higher purpose—not to defeat humans, but to help them. Now a SUNY Empire Innovation Professor at the University at Buffalo and director of UB’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Xiong is fully immersed in designing AI solutions for the betterment of society. In this episode of Driven to Discover, Xiong talks to host Cory Nealon about the epiphany that drove his career choices, the AI projects he’s most excited about at UB, and why he thinks people should stop freaking out about the downsides of AI and be more energized by its possibilities.
Credits:
Host: Cory Nealon
Guest: Jinjun Xiong
Writer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming on April 30: More than 750 older Americans are hospitalized every day due to severe side effects from their medications. Many of them will die prematurely as a result. Pharmacy researcher David Jacobs breaks down the systemic failures behind this disturbing trend and explains how Team Alice, a multidisciplinary initiative that he co-leads, is working to reverse it.
There are few people more qualified to weigh in on the legalization of cannabis than psychologist R. Lorraine Collins, a renowned addictions expert who started researching the drug decades ago, long before the wave of legalization began sweeping the U.S. In this episode of Driven to Discover, David Hill talks to Collins, a SUNY Distinguished Professor at the University at Buffalo and director of the Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, about the pros and cons of legal cannabis, what New York State is getting right (and wrong) in its legalization journey, the historical racism behind cannabis being designated a Schedule I substance, and why it’s so critical for research that the federal government reclassify it.
Credits:
Host: David Hill
Guest: R. Lorraine Collins
Writer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming on April 30: More than 750 older Americans are hospitalized every day due to severe side effects from their medications. Many of them will die prematurely as a result. Pharmacy researcher David Jacobs breaks down the systemic failures behind this disturbing trend and explains how Team Alice, a multidisciplinary initiative that he co-leads, is working to reverse it.
Most Americans take free speech for granted. In her new book, “Actual Malice: Civil Rights and Freedom of the Press in New York Times v. Sullivan,” legal historian Samantha Barbas illustrates precisely why we shouldn’t. In this episode of Driven to Discover, host Laura Silverman talks to Barbas, a professor of law at the University at Buffalo and an expert in the intersections of law, culture and the media, about the landmark 1964 case that liberated the press and transformed free speech in America. Barbas paints a compelling portrait of how dire things had become for journalists (and, relatedly, the Civil Rights Movement) before Sullivan, and predicts a similarly dire future for the media and even for everyday citizens speaking their minds on social media if the decision were ever to be reversed—a not inconceivable outcome with our current Supreme Court.
Credits:
Host: Laura Silverman
Guest: Samantha Barbas
Writer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming on April 30: More than 750 older Americans are hospitalized every day due to severe side effects from their medications. Many of them will die prematurely as a result. Pharmacy researcher David Jacobs breaks down the systemic failures behind this disturbing trend and explains how Team Alice, a multidisciplinary initiative that he co-leads, is working to reverse it.
Effective, long-lasting, non-addictive pain relief—it sounds too good to be true. But thanks to the imagination (and perseverance) of University at Buffalo neuroscientist/pharmacologist Arin Bhattacharjee, it may be just around the corner. Bhattacharjee, a self-proclaimed “dreamer,” has developed a novel approach to pain, both acute and chronic, that could get FDA approval in as soon as two years. In this episode of Driven to Discover, host Ellen Goldbaum talks to Bhattacharjee about his journey from wannabe soccer pro to impassioned scientist, the research that led to a new understanding of pain, and the small yet powerful peptide that could not only transform millions of lives but also help lead us out of the opioid epidemic.
Credits:
Host: Ellen Goldbaum
Guest: Arin Bhattacharjee
Writer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming on Sept. 26: Host Laura Silverman talks to legal historian Samantha Barbas about what could well be the next target in the Supreme Court’s reshaping of civil rights in America: New York Times vs. Sullivan, a landmark 1964 First Amendment ruling and the subject of Barbas’s latest book.
As a young boy, LaGarrett King loved history, but he couldn’t figure out where he fit in the narrative he was being taught at school, nor how enslaved people could possibly have been as content as his teachers portrayed. Now a renowned authority on the teaching of Black history, King directs UB’s Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education, a thriving hub of research, professional development, networking and advocacy. In this episode of Driven to Discover, King talks to host Vicky Santos about the real meaning of “history” (it’s not what most people think), why it’s important that every student learn Black history, and the innovative ways his center is advancing Black history education around the world.
Credits:
Host: Vicky Santos
Guest: LaGarrett King
Writer: Laura Silverman
Production and Editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming This Fall: Driven to Discover is taking a break over the summer. We will return in late August with pharmacologist Arin Bhattacharjee, who is working on a promising—and non-addictive—alternative to opioids for chronic pain.
Diana Aga decided to become an environmental chemist after witnessing the dire effects of industrialization and population growth on the idyllic village where she grew up. Today, she is a worldwide authority on everything from industrial pollution and wastewater treatment to PFAS chemicals—the subject of this episode. Aga, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Henry M. Woodburn Professor of Chemistry and director of the RENEW Institute at UB, explains to host Cory Nealon why PFAS are known as “forever chemicals,” where they exist in the environment (basically everywhere), what harm they cause (a lot), and the various ways in which she and her collaborators are working to find and destroy them. Spoiler alert: She’s optimistic.
Credits:
Host: Cory Nealon
Guest: Diana Aga
Writer: Laura Silverman
Production and Editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming May 30: Host Vicky Santos talks to LaGarrett King, director of UB’s Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education, about how his early love of history clashed with the “happy slave” myth he was taught in elementary school, sparking a lifelong passion to advance Black history education around the world.
Nicholas Rajkovich, associate professor of architecture and director of the Resilient Buildings Lab at UB, studies how we can adapt our built environment to withstand extreme weather and other impacts of a changing climate. In this episode, Rajkovich tells host David Hill about his early passion for building (resulting, among other things, in the construction of a wastewater plant in his parents’ basement); how people can make their cities more resilient in an increasingly hostile climate; what’s in store for Western New York specifically, and whether we're ready for it (the Christmas blizzard provides a clue); and how Rajkovich and his students are working with the community to better prepare us for such events in the future.
Credits:
Host: David Hill
Guest: Nicholas Rakjovich
Writer: Laura Silverman
Production and Editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming on April 25: Host Cory Nealon talks to Diana Aga, a worldwide expert on chemical and environmental pollution, about “forever chemicals”—what they are, why we should be worried about them, and how she’s working to take the “forever” out of them.
Stephanie Poindexter, a biological anthropologist in UB's College of Arts and Sciences, specializes in how primates utilize and navigate their habitats. For the past 10 years, she has focused her research on the slow loris: an adorable yet venomous primate that inhabits Southeast Asia and surrounding areas. In this episode, Poindexter tells host Vicky Santos how she first became interested in primates (it helps to grow up near a zoo), how to track down a slow loris in a Thai forest in the middle of the night, and why we need to understand this little-known creature better if we wish to fully understand ourselves.
Credits:
Host: Vicky Santos
Guest: Stephanie Poindexter
Writer: Laura Silverman
Production and Editing by UB Video Production Group
Coming on March 28: Host David Hill talks to climate resiliency expert Nicholas Rajkovich about what cities should be doing now to prepare for the effects of extreme weather and a changing climate.
John Crassidis, Moog Professor of Innovation at UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, works with NASA, the Air Force and other agencies to monitor space debris, also known as space junk. In this episode, Cory Nealon talks to Crassidis about his journey from aspiring astronaut to academia, why space junk poses a threat to the future of satellites and space missions, and how he’s applying a $5 million grant from the Air Force—with the help of institutional partners and his students at UB—to help solve the problem.
Credits:
Host: Cory Nealon
Guest: John Crassidis
Writer: Laura Silverman
Designer: Kristen Kowalski
Production and Editing by UB Video Production Group
Next on Driven to Discover: Host Vicky Santos talks to biological anthropologist Stephanie Poindexter about her research on the slow loris, an adorable yet venomous primate that inhabits Southeast Asia and surrounding areas.