TechnoGypsie podcast: Recent Episodes

Ciara and Rachel

We are living through the 4th industrial revolution. Change is coming.

Nowadays, buzzwords like blockchain, machine learning, and cellular agriculture are all we hear about.

We want to give curious minds the inspiration, knowledge, and resources they need to learn more about STEM.

At the TechnoGypsie podcast we want to teach people about new technologies, and highlight how busy people fit everything into their schedules.

Our world is changing, and we want to lead that change.

Ibrahim's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ibrahim-maigari-455427188/

RiceAfrika: https://riceafrika.com/

Ibrahim previously co founded and led Livestock247 to become Nigeria's leading online livestock platform, and he is currently the founder and CEO of RiceAfrika an agriculture optimization service that provides everything a smallholder farmer in Tanzania and Nigeria needs to increase yields and profits, which directly correlates to increased food security for smallholder farming households, and decreased poverty. It's hard to summarize everything RiceAfrika is doing in just one sentence, so we deep dive into the why behind providing these services to smallholders, and the how with Ibrahim.

In this episode, we talk about what Ibrahim and RiceAfrika call the 7 touchpoints, 7 inputs and resources that smallholder farmers need access to, so that they can generate the yields on par with those in the western world. These touchpoints are like the root causes at the end of the root cause analysis of why smallholder farmer yield's across africa are so low and almost 40% of the population is living in poverty.

We also talk about scaling solutions, why it's so important to treat quote on quote social impact as a business, not as a charity, and we do a mini dot connecting session of the problem of poverty, agriculture productivity, paired with smallholder farmers and beneficiaries across the supply chain.

Livestock farming makes up 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. 77% of global farming land is used for grazing and growing food which livestock eats. And animal agriculture uses 20% of global freshwater. In other words, livestock farmer uses an atrocious amount of resources, making it one of the top contributors of climate change. In this episode of the Luminexus Podcast, we talk with bioengineer and entrepreneur Vanessa Small about the solution to this problem of livestock farming: cellular agriculture.

This episode is about the “how” of cell ag and the research that is being done right now to find the ‘secret sauce’ to make cultured meat taste just like real meat. Learn about Vanessa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-small-a498b916/

Learn about Alcheme Bio: https://www.alchemebio.com/

Welcome to the 27th episode of the Luminexus podcast! In this episode, we spoke to Garrett Smiley, founder and CEO of Sora Schools an innovative online school for students in 6th-12th grade.

This episode is centered all around AI, especially its uses in education.

In this episode, we talk about topics ranging from AI as an important tool for the 21st century and how Sora is approaching addressing and implementing it to How AI can be used to enable non-technical experts to create products and the realm of misinformation in this field.

This conversation was flooded with budding ideas and interesting perspectives. So, whether you're new to the topic or have budding ideas of your own this episode is perfect for you.

Quantum computing - it’s such a buzz word now and everyone is talking about it for what it might be able to do decades off in the future. And while these futuristic conversations about quantum computing are interesting and inspiring, they are not realistic, because before we get to this point where quantum computing can accomplish all these crazy feats, we first need to solve all the technical problems that limit large scale adoption of quantum computing. And there are a lot of technical problems. Decoherence, low malleability and the extremely cold temperatures quantum computers operate at are massive technical problems that must be solved before we can even think about quantum computers taking over the world.

So in this episode, we talk with Nick Johnson, a trapped-ion physicist and quantum engineer at Riverlane, about the problem of scaling quantum computing, and these hard technical problems with quantum computing. Nick holds a PhD in physics from the university of Sussex where he researched a scalable demonstrator for trapped-ion quantum computing using modules connected by electric fields.

By 2050, we will need to produce 75% more food to feed everyone on the planet. This is a gigantic feat and begs the question, “how?” Is it a matter of using more fertilizer or adding more pesticides? Well according to Ariel Patton, growth manager at mineral.ai, the answer is to make our current agricultural systems more efficient.
And we’re not talking about a 5% or 10% improvement, we’re talking about an increase in efficiency by 5 or 10 times.
The only way this can happen is through technology. Creating more effective technologies for the West, and making basic technology accessible to farmers in the global South.
In this episode we talk with Ariel about the innovation that is happening in agriculture, and the innovation that needs to happen, to increase yields by 75% to feed everyone on the planet.

Jagriti Agrawal | Kira Learning

The education system across North America is outdated. It was created in the height of the industrial revolution (in 1871) to transfer basic knowledge into children so they could grow up and work in factories. That education system created in the 1870s is the same education system we have today. And spoiler alert, it’s way past it’s due date.

We no longer need to create cookie cutter kids to work in factories - we should be creating kids that can solve hard problems in the world, apply knowledge to make an impact, and challenge kids to think critically and not flip to the back of the textbook for an answer.

In this episode of the Luminexus podcast, we talk with Jagriti Agrowal, co-founder of Kira Learning, a company that is disrupting how children learn and what they learn about. We talk with Jagriti about the importance of CS and AI education, and why this is the most important tool of the 21rst century that every body should know (+ how Kira is making this a reality!), and Jagriti’s journey developing the 2020 Perseverance rover, then doing a complete 180 and creating an EdTech startup.

In this episode, we talk about the importance of AI in education, and how artificial intelligence can solve the biggest problems in our education system to create the changemakers of tomorrow.

Hannah Claridge is the head of neurotechnology at TTP, a science and technology consulting company that helps founders and entrepreneurs bring ideas to market. This process is called proof of concept to manufacturing, which is something we talk a lot about in this episode.

Hannah started out with a master of physics from Oxford University, where she spent her final year project at Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), which led to a scientific publication and the offer of a fully funded Ph.D. position. Hannah continued her Ph.D. at Oxford (specifically FMRIB), where she was part of a research group that worked on using gas-calibrated magnetic resonance imaging to quantify physiological parameters in the brain.

Previously Hannah has worked as a quantitative analyst intern at UBS, predicting financial market movements by modeling correlations between industries, and as an intern at GE Healthcare in the medical imaging department, researching novel ways of imaging the lungs with hyperpolarized gases in conjunction with MRI.

And now, Hannah is combining her depth of knowledge in MRI, neurotech, and healthcare to help commercialize scientific research so it can make a large impact and reach people who will benefit most.

“I help to bring new products to the market by balancing the complexities of technology development with the realities of healthcare businesses.” -Hannah

In this conversation with Hannah, we talk about:

Hannah’s journey from working in research to product
Projects in MRI, biosensing, and healthcare Hannah has worked on
Neuromodulation (what it is and why it is important)
Non-invasive vs invasive neurotechnology products
Innovations in non-invasive products
Bringing a product to market (proof of concept to manufacturing)
Challenges with consumer-based neurotech projects (vs neurotech in a research setting)
Who owns data collected from neurotech products?
How young people can get into the space

Check out the ReFED website to explore the problem of food waste and solutions!

LinkedIn | Littlefoot Ventures

Eva Goulbourne is the founder and CEO of Littlefoot Ventures, a sustainability consultancy dedicated to creating value for leaders in the food industry who want to protect our planet and natural resources, all while making a profit and delighting their customers. Littlefoot Ventures represents a culmination of knowledge and experiences from Eva’s 13 years as a food systems practitioner driving change on global agriculture and food issues within the foodservice, restaurant, and retail industries.

Before Littlefoot, Eva was a founding team member of ReFed, a US wide non profit leading the food waste revolution. Eva held several different positions at ReFed, including Director of Communications and the Director of Business Engagement & Programming. She was responsible for the wide distribution of the original ReFED Roadmap report, which has had millions of impressions in the mainstream and trade media and continues to influence corporate strategies and policy agendas to this day. She was also successful in securing over $1.1M in funding for the organization.

Before ReFed, Eva worked at the World Economic Forum serving on the food and agriculture team. There, she supported multi-stakeholder partnerships in 12 countries across Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America to mobilize investment and coordination amongst global food companies, heads of state, ministers of agriculture, and farmer organizations.

Eva is also the president of Upcycled Food Association and a public speaker who has spoken on global stages about food waste.

Eva has a BA in International Affairs, Conflict and Security from the George Washington University.

LinkedIn | Website | Medium | Twitter | Github

Sonya is a product generalist that works at the intersection of tech and user experience. She has experience working at companies big and small, with her positions ranging from software engineer to product design and management. Currently, Sonya is a product design intern at Meta, building out the user experience on Horizon worlds. Previously, Sonya worked as a product design intern at Plural AI and program manager and software engineer at Microsoft Sonya is a 2022 Stanford Technology Ventures Program, which gives Stanford master’s students entrepreneurial and networking experience. This leads to Sonya’s current Master’s degree in human-centered product design at Stanford, where she is designing solutions to the world’s biggest problems. Sonya holds a B.S in computer science, women’s studies, and German from the University of Michigan, and an M.S in behavioral sciences from the London School of Economics and Political Science, with the Master's thesis title "Leveraging Behavioural Science to Increase User Engagement in Early Stage Products”. Sonya has worked on a wide range of projects, from improving dating apps with behavioral science and meditation to a minimalist coffee-ordering app.

In this conversation, we talk with Sonya about:

What design impact is
The qualities of people in the design impact space
Why optimizing for user experience makes machine learning applications more efficient
Getting into virtual reality as a beginner, and what she sees the area looks like in the upcoming years
Her experience working in different company environments
Bringing a project from idea to reality
Meditation - and so much more!

LinkedIn | Twitter | Google Scholar | Medium

Alexander Titus is a technologist working at the intersection of industry, academia and government services, which can be largely categorized as healthcare & life sciences, national security and emerging technology. . He is the Co-Founder of the In Vivo Group and the Founder of Bioeconomy.XYZ, and is also a strategic business executive at Google Cloud leading solution work for the global public sector, as well as AI/ML applications for public sector missions

Currently Alexander is VP of strategy and head of computational sciences at Colossal Biosciences, a company working to de-extinct the wooly mammoth; chief of staff + VP of advanced applications at Form Bio, a company empowering scientific discovery by simplifying computational work and providing targeted expertise to builders; and Commissioner @ National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology.

Alexander holds a BA in ecology from the University of Puget Sound, and a BS in Biochemistry with a mathematics minor from the University of Puget Sound. He has his PhD in machine learning and bioinformatics from Dartmouth Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies.

Previously, Alexander was the inaugural Assistant Director for Biotechnology within the Office of the CTO at the Department of Defense, where he led the team developing the DoD’s roadmap towards biotechnology modernization. He has worked as an AI+ML research fellow on the Amazon Alexa AI team, and an assistant professor of Biostatistics at Georgetown University, and Biotechnology at the University of New Hampshire.

Alexander lives his life by this phrase “life is biotech to pay the bills, and backcountry to pay the soul.” In 2012 he travelled for a year in central America and Australia, and in 2014, he rode his bike 3000 miles from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to San Francisco, California.

In this episode we talk about:

AI X bio
Building new products with industrial biotech
Colossal biosciences
Alexander’s role at department of defense and national security commission of emerging biotech
Traveling around the world
Taking charge of who you want to be and not just what you want to do
The importance of developing skills outside of school
Enjoying the journey
Helping other people to change the world

Brian’s LinkedIn | Quantum Strategy Institute website

Brian Lenahan is an author, AI strategist, quantum computing consultant, former executive and recognized speaker. His books include Artificial Intelligence: Foundations for Business Leaders and Consultants, Deep Health: Using Artificial Intelligence to Live Longer and Healthier, Quantum Boost: Using Quantum Computing to Supercharge Your Business, and Quantum Excellence: How Leading Companies Are Deploying the Transformational Technology. Brian’s career started out in the banking industry for 15 years, working his way up to Associate Vice President in the North America Claims and Recoveries at TD Bank. Then Brian started hearing a lot about artificial intelligence in the news and decided he must learn more. He retired from banking in 2017 and asked himself “where do you go for the best AI education?”, and the answer was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Brian studied the business and strategy side of AI in a course called the Implications for Business Strategy. After consulting with companies on how to create an AI roadmap for their business, Brian transitioned into quantum computing and noticed that there wasn’t a lot of information about quantum for the general public…so he founded the Quantum Strategy Institute. The QSI is an international network of experts with varied expertise that share in common a passion for quantum computing. The aim of QSI is to explore the practical applications of quantum computing across all industries, and help educate businesses and people about the technology.

Brian is also the founder and CEO of Aquitaine Innovation Advisors (AIA), which helps businesses outpace their competition in the era of artificial intelligence and quantum computing through books, online courses, speaking engagements and workshops.

Brian holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and Financial Management Services from Queen’s University and a Doctor of Business in strategy and innovation from Capella University. He has completed numerous AI and quantum computing courses from Harvard, NYU, and Udemy.

In this episode we cover everything from:

What quantum computing is
Crossroads between quantum and other emerging technologies like AI and use cases with space tech and archaeology
Topics in Deep Health like digital twins and the internet of bodies
Promise vs practical when it comes to quantum content - Communication with developments in quantum, and
Tips on getting into the quantum computing field

Anie’s LinkedIn | Anie’s Instagram | Anie’s Twitter | Anie’s Facebook | African Women In Tech Website

Anie Akpe is the founder of African Women in Tech (AWIT), an organization that empowers African women to unlock their full potential in technology, through mentorship, workshops, hackathons and more. Anie has worked in the banking and finance industry, before founding AWIT. She worked in Mortgage Originations at Municipal Credit Union, becoming extremely skilled in mortgage marketing, commercial lending, banking and credit analysis.

Anie is also the founder of IBOMLLC, a company which provide top-notch business services to help businesses achieve their strategies in the most efficient way. IBOM LLC has serviced small business owners in New York for over 10 years, with the focus of educating African in the Diaspora, by providing the best consulting services for the medium and small sized business.

On top of this, Anie is also the founder of Innov8tiv magazine, a dynamic Web source for technology news, resources and innovation, with a special focus on the entrepreneurial advances of Africans on the continent as well as in the Diaspora. Innov8tiv explores topic ranging from blockchain, AI and web3, to web design and coding, to entrepreneurship start-ups, cool jobs and personal and professional improvement.

In this episode with Anie we talk about all the incredible work that AWIT does on a daily basis, as well as:

Bringing a business idea to life
What it’s like to run 3 startups at a time (stress and time management)
The power of meditation
Quitting the comforts of your day job to create a company
How to build high impact startups
Why economic incentivization is key
Why learning is CRUCIAL to your success

Stefania’s LinkedIn | Stefania’s website | Stefania’s Medium | Stefania’s Twitter | Stefania’s Google Scholar

Stefania Druga is an AI Resident at X Moonshot Factory and a third-year Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Washington Information School, advised by Prof. Amy J. Ko in the Code & Cognition Lab. She is also affiliated with the PLSE Lab and with the Community Data Science Collective. Stefania’s research focuses on computer supported coding, smart toys, the design of AI literacy tools for families and the future of AI education. She has conducted dozens of experiments about how children interact and view smart toys and AI devices, and the importance of parents learning about these technologies with their children. Stefania is a Weizenbaum Research Fellow, an awardee of the NSF Formal Verification in the Field Grant and the Jacobs Foundation Grant. Previously, she was a LEGO Papert Fellow during her time as a master student at MIT researching with Prof. Mitch Resnick and the Scratch team.

Stefania has founded and worked on several impactful projects. One of these projects is TileCode, an app for designing, coding, and playing games directly on low cost MakeCode Arcade gaming handhelds, as well as in the web browser. The goal of TileCode is to provide a space where students can experiment and tinker with with their game ideas and learn about programing, machine learning and computation. Another project Stefania has founded is Afrimakers, which is an initiative that aims to enable African makers to use local know-how to solve local challenges like access to clean water, energy, and information. Another project Stefania has created is Cognimates, an AI education platform for building games, programing robots and training models. Stefania has created this platform as part of her master thesis at MIT Media Lab in 2018. The platform is currently being used in more than 120 countries and has over 5000 unique visitors each month. These are just three out of the many projects that Stefania has created that are making real change in the way computer programing is taught and learnt about.

In this episode we talk with Stefania about all her work and research, how to effectively teach AI literacy to children and families and why all this is so important to create a better future for humanity.

Shely’s LinkedIn | Shely’s Twitter | InnerPlant website

Shely Aronov is the founder and CEO of InnerPlant, a company on a mission to transform farming by enabling crops to communicate with growers. It starts by genetically engineering seeds to contain a Green Flourescent Protein that floreces when the plant is under external stresses: pest infestation, drought, fungal pressures and lack of nutrients. Drones, satilites and tractors then observe when the plant is lighting up through machine learning algorithms that are used to isolate the different colored wavelengths that are used for each stressor. This data is then sent to the InnerPlant App where farmers can provide each individual plant with exactly what they need to thrive.

Shely received a BSC in Industrial Engineering from Tel Aviv University, and an MBA in entrepreneurship from Stanford University Graduate School Of Business. Shely has worked as the management consultant for Minet Technologies, performing sales pitches and negotiations with C-level executives of Israel’s Fortune 100 companies. After that Shely founded EDTMC subsidiary to execute a large scale construction project part of a $320M World Bank funded project to build a sewage system for the city of Cartagena. Then she founded Yamba Hummus before landing on ag. Shely has a deep passion for changing our current food production system, which lead to her current company, InnerPlant. In this episode we talk with Shely about everything ag: the problems in our current ag system, how to fix the problems in our ag system to solve both food security and climate change. We talk about the mindsets of a changemaker and how to approach solving big problems in the world.

Dana's personal website| Dana's LinkedIn| Dana's Twitter

In this episode of the TechnoGypsie podcast we welcome Dana Ware. Dana has lots of experience working in various production roles and in the recent years has jumped into creating experiences in Virtual/Augmented reality. After receiving masters for game production and film/media arts, she gained enough knowledge to not only start creating in the space, but to also design and teach a classes about the intersection between film and virtual/augmented reality. Down the line, Dana went to work as a Creative Director for places like The VOID and Dark Slope, and speak at numerous conferences. In this episode we talk with Dana about:

Difference between virtual and augmented reality
Location-based entertainment
What it's like being a creative director
Dealing with being a minority in STEM
So much more!

Thought For Food website: https://thoughtforfood.org/

Christine’s LinkedIn, Christine’s website, Christine’s Twitter

Christine Gould is a global leader and expert in agri-food-tech innovation. Christine is the CEO and founder of Thought For Food, a global community of 30 thousand Millennial and GenZ from over 175 different countries. Christine has a B.A from the American University and a MPA in science and technology policy from Columbia University. Christine has previously been the head of innovation at Syngenta and senior policy manager of CropLife International. Christine serves on the Advisory Committee for the UN Food Systems Summit and sits on the Investment Committee for Expara SouthEast Asia Ventures, is a Founding Partner of Spaceship Earth Ventures, serves on the Boards of Advisors for reNature Foundation and the Association for Vertical Farming, and was named an inaugural member of the Ashoka Change-makers League on Intrapreneurs. Christine has been featured in media like Wired, MIT Technology Review, BBC, Forbes, National Geographic, Mashable and more. She has spoken globally at places like Web Summit, World Economic Forum, The Economist, The World Bank and more.

Kevin Davies is an author, journal editor and publisher who specializes in genomics, personalized medicine and the Human Genome Project. Kevin is the author of five popular science books: Editing Humanity, The $1,000 Genome, Cracking the Genome, and (co-authored with Michael White) Breakthrough: The Race for the Breast Cancer Gene, and (co-author with Nobel laureate James Watson of DNA: The Story of the Genetic Revolution.

Kevin has held several prominent editorial and publishing positions, including Editor-in-Chief of Cell Press, the flagship journal division of Elsevier, and launch editor for Bio-IT World. Kevin is the executive editor of The CRISPR Journal and GEN Biotechnology, and the founding editor of Nature Genetics, the world’s leading genetics journal. Kevin has also worked at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, where he was publisher of the Society’s weekly magazine Chemical & Engineering News.

Kevin studied biochemistry at the University of Oxford and took a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from the University of London, where he worked on mapping the cystic fibrosis gene. Kevin has held postdoctoral fellowships at MIT and Harvard Medical School.

Editing Humanity: The CRISPR Revolution and the New Era of Genome Editing

Personal website | LinkedIn

Dr. Aadeel Akhtar is the CEO and founder of PSYONIC, a revolutionary bionic limb company that has created the world’s fastest, first ever touch sensing bionic hand that is covered under Medicare in the United States, called the ability hand. In 2020 the ability hand was named the product of the year mHUB Chicago 4th Revolution Awards, and a list of several other incredible awards and achievements.

In 2021, Aadeel was named as one of MIT Technology Review’s top 35 Innovators Under 35 and America’s Top 50 Disruptors in Newsweek. Aadeel has received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience and M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2016. He received a B.S. in Biology in 2007 and M.S. in Computer Science in 2008 at Loyola University Chicago. His research is on motor control and sensory feedback for upper limb prostheses, and he has collaborations with the Bretl Research Group at Illinois, the Center for Bionic Medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, the John Rogers Research Group at Northwestern University, and the Range of Motion Project in Guatemala and Ecuador.

Some of the key things we talk about in this episode are:

The technical side of the Ability Hand
The grit it takes to become a founder
How to find the path that will help you accomplish your goals
The mentality you need to make an impact in the world .

Sign up for Matthew’s weekly newsletter here. | Personal website | LinkedIn | YouTube channel | One pager

Matthew Espinoza is a 19 year old founder, builder and creator. Mathew is the founder of Agora Labs, a platform that enables web3 creators to build scalable communities and rewards powered by creator tokens. You can join the Agora Labs discord here and follow Agora on Twitter here.

Matthew is currently creating the first-ever tokenized book through Creator Institute, and is in his second year at York University studying for a CS degree. Matthew has worked as a Creator Growth Role at Facebook/Meta, worked at Growth Lead at Virtually, been a venture fellow at Ripple X Ventures, and GenZ Scouts, and built a profitable cohort-based course on Accelerated Learning. Matthew has been featured in Inside The Feed, CloudPress, BlissToday, Youth Action Potential and 30+ other places.

In this episode we talked about:

What are NFT’s
The difference between NFT’s and Tokens
The utility of social tokens
What web3 is + Learning/teaching web3
Agora Labs + Creator Accelerator program
The future of Agora labs and web3 in general
Content creation

Check our Forest City SynBio here.

Samir Hamadache is the cofounder of Forest City SynBio, a company that is empowering entrepreneurs to use synthetic biology to solve the world's biggest problems. Samir is passionate about the intersections of synthetic biology, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development with his research focusing on using microfluidics to creating synthetic organelles. Samir has his bachelor of science from Western University in genetics and biochemistry, and his PhD in biochemistry from Western University. Samir’s thesis focused on applying automation and microfluidics to the creation of synthetic nitrogen-fixing organelles. Samir is the vice president at SynBio Canada and is passionate about empowering Canadian entrepreneurs to use synthetic biology to tackle large problems.

Some key things we talk about in this episode are:

Synthetic organelles
Microfluidics
SynBio + off-sets of synbio
Ethical considerations/concerns with synbio
Biotechnology
Potential uses of synbio
Forest City SynBio
Entrepreneurship

Check out the Sheekey Science Show here.

Eleanor Sheekey is the creator of the Sheekey Science Show, a successful YouTube channel with 23K subscribers. Eleanor graduated with a first class BA & MSci in Biochemistry from Peterhouse, University of Cambridge and is currently working on her PhD at the Cancer Research UK - Cambridge Institute focusing on p53 & cellular senescence. Eleanor is an On Deck Longevity Biotech Fellow, a community of ambitious founders, operators, and investors looking to build, join, and invest in revolutionary longevity biotechnology startups. Eleanor is a expert in the field of longevity and aging from her many positions in the field.

In this episode we cover all the exciting research about aging and longevity. Some of the key things we go over:

Cellular senescence: what makes a cell become senescent and how to get rid of senescent cells through senolytics or senomorphics
Sirtuins: the 7 differents Sirtuins, their role in the aging process
NAD+
p53: what it is, what it does, why it’s important
Telomeres + telomerase
Myths about longevity
How to start a successful YouTube channel,
And the 100 dollar question, what can individuals do to live longer.

Follow Luke on Instagram @lukehurd

Luke Hurd is a AR speaker and instructor that “build cool shit that people love”. Luke is the XR director of experience design at VLMY&R. Luke is the the Spark AR official instructor and curriculum creator at Meta. Luke has held many rolls in a variety of XR companies like the director of integrated production at Barkley and the innovation director at Signal Theory Inc.

In this episode with Luke we talked about:

Types of AR
Different types of tracking with AR
Different ways to display AR
Programming AR applications
Myths/misconceptions about AR
The importance of design when creating AR applications
The impact AR has on communities
and so much more...

Check out Matt’s TED talk about quantum computing here.

In this episode we had the pleasure of speaking with Matt Langione, partner at the Boston Consulting Group. Matt specializes in bringing research-driven, high-potential "deep tech" to market. He is a leading global expert on the industrial applications of quantum computing, and publishes regularly on topics at the Nexus Science, business and policy.

At BCG, he advises Fortune 500 companies on integrating quantum computing (and other high potential technologies) into their companies. He has addressed audiences at major conferences in the field and has helped steer U.S. Government policy and investment in quantum computing as part of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

This episode is great for people wanting to learn more about quantum computing. Here is an outline of the episode:

Explaining quantum computing to a 5 year old
Quantum superposition
Quantum entanglement
How to make qubits
Different kinds of qubits
Different kinds of quantum computing and how they differ
Physical parts of a quantum computer
Designing quantum circuits
Decoherence + problems facing quantum computers
Applications of quantum computing for the future

The article we talk about in the episode: A guide to DIY Bio

Elliot Roth is the founder of Spira Inc, a company that is making carbon negative products from algae. The products at Spira Inc. using gene editing technologies are programmed algae that help human and planetary health. Spira Inc. uses genetic engineering to program algae, then Spira works with struggling farmers to grow the algae, the algae is then harvested and refined to make Spira’s products.

Since 2016 when Spira Inc. was founded it has been awarded a prestigious and well known award each year. Some of the most well known awards Spira has been awarded are:

2016 Rebelbio synthetic biology investment
2016 Lighthouse Labs RVA business grant
2017 World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator Bootcamp Finalist for food security
2017 Kairos Fellowship social impact
2017 MIT SOLVE Finalist for foodtech
2017 Halcyon Incubator Fellowship for social impact
2017 Mentor Capital Network Finalist for social impact
2018 BeGreen Incubator awardee for social impact
2018 NSF I-Corps awardee for scientific exploration
2018 Conservation X Labs Tech Prize for conservation
2019 Future Founders Fellowship for young entrepreneurs
2019 VCU 10 Under 10 Award for young entrepreneurs
2020 Impact Summit People’s Choice Award

Elliot is a Kairos Fellow, a Seasteading Ambassador, a member of the TFF NextGen Council, and sits on the Virginia Governor’s Council for Youth Entrepreneurship. Elliot has spoken at Synbiobeta, SXSW, and Thought for Food on social impact, synthetic biology and food.

Check out Elliot’s portfolio here.

Check out Spira Inc here.

Ryan Brown is the co-founder of Salient Energy. Salient Energy is commercializing a new battery which is perfectly suited for the needs of the electrical grid: zinc-ion batteries. Zinc-ion batteries are cheaper, safer, and longer lasting than the traditional lithium-ion batteries currently used in grid scale energy storage. “We not only need to build a much bigger electrical system than we have today but also need to completely reimagine its design.”[Salient Energy website ‘about us’ page]. Salient so far has raised $10 million from generous investors like the Shell’s GameChanger program. Also selected by California program to demonstrate Li-ion alternatives, Salient Energy has worked with accelerators including Techstars, StartX, and the Creative Destruction Lab.

Ryan was named one of the Forbes 30 under 30 of 2022 for Salient Energy’s work on developing zinc-ion batteries for the grid.

Ryan has a bachelor of business administration from Wilfrid Laurier University, and well as a bachelor of mathematics from Wilfrid Laurier University. Ryan left both degrees to pursue his real passion; nanotechnology engineering, and spent the next five years at the University Of Waterloo on a bachelor of applied science, nanotechnology engineering.

Make sure that you check out Salient energy on Twitter.

Today we had an amazing conversation with Davide Valeriani. Davide is a computer engineer and computational neuroscientist/data scientist, developing machine learning methods with applications to medicine and neuroscience, with a focus on developing Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) to improve decision-making and gather insights into mental states. He is the senior machine learning scientist at Neurable, the largest BCI company in the world.

Davide has his B.E in computer engineering from the Università degli Studi di Parma, his masters in computer engineering from the Università degli Studi di Parma and his PhD in BCIs from the University Of Essex.

In this episode we talk all about brain computer interfaces. We go into a lot of detail about what it takes to collect and clean data for BCIs, how ECoG and EEGs work, EMG, signal processing, building BCIs and what BCIs will look like in the future. We discussed the many uses for BCIs, and which BCIs are good choices for different scenarios.

I had a lot of fun talking with Davide, and I learned so much. Make sure you check out his research papers here.

DONATE TO THE CASSAVA VIRUS ACTION PROJECT HERE: https://multiplier.org/project/cassava-virus-action-project/

In this episode, we spoke with Laura Boykin. Laura is a senior scientific consultant at The BioTeam, Inc. Laura's passion is using technology and science for good, to help smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Along with scientists in East Africa, she founded the Cassava Virus Action Project in East Africa to roll out portable DNA sequencing and analysis to farmers. The team also trains local communities in the use of these technologies to tackle future outbreaks. The Cassava Virus Action Project is trying to control the whitefly and other viruses from destroying the cassava plant; a crop that 800 million people rely on a day for their daily calories. But the problem is that the whitefly destroys millions of fields of cassava. The whitefly transmits deadly diseases that kill the cassava, cassava mosaic disease, and cassava brown streak disease.

Laura led a lab for 7 years at the University Of Western Australia, with the goal of using genomics, supercomputing, and phylogenetics to study the evolution of whiteflies and the viruses they transmit.

Laura was awarded the Gifted Citizen Prize at the Ciudad de las Ideas Festival in 2017. The prize is given to the best social entrepreneurship project that is having a large-scale impact on humanity’s most pressing issues. She is one of 2019’s Wired 25—innovators who are racing to save us from ourselves, featured in the Wired magazine in an article titled How Do We Bring Equality to Data Ownership and Usage?

Laura is a TED senior with two incredible TED talks: How we're using DNA tech to help farmers fight crop disease and Why cassava is a poverty fighter.

Laura has a B.A in biology from Occidental College, an M.A in ecology, evolution, systematics, and population biology from San Francisco State University, and a Ph.D. in botany/plant biology from The University of New Mexico.

In this episode, we talked with Jacinto Sá, a full professor in physical chemistry at Uppsala University, and head of the plasmonic research group based out of Sweeden. Jacinto has his Master's degree from the Universidade de Aveiro in analytical chemistry, and a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Aberdeen. Jacinto is the co-founder of Peafowl Solar Power, with the tag line, energy production made beautifully. Peafowl Solar Power is a company striving to develop nearly 100% transparent solar cells for seamless integration with society.

In this episode, we learned so much! Some key topics we discussed are:

What solar energy is.
The physics of turning sunlight into energy.
Difference between plasmonics and conventional solar energy.
What an energy gap is

In this episode, we talk with Meryam Al-Waadh, an AI + Tech Strategist, and an analytical Lead @ Google. She is has a degree in Laboratory Medicine Pathobiology, technology with a specialization in biotech, and an advanced diploma in business management. Meryam is a volunteer at civic action: emerging leaders network, and has done much research in the healthcare, specifically breast cancer, sector. Now Meryam has combined her love of technology with her love for healthcare and asks questions about data every day. Meryam is a mentor at Girls E-Mentorship and is very passionate about career development for young professionals.

In this episode, we had so much fun learning about Meryam and artificial intelligence. Some key topics we discussed are:

What AI is for a 5-year-old
The ethical considerations of AI
Be a sponge and absorb information
Use data as your lego blocks
Re-evaluate your goals and make sure that you are doing the things that you enjoy