The Lab Beat

Mo Li is out to transform the cement industry which creates 8% of the world's carbon emissions. Li has created concrete that can heal itself and a process to produce cement with clean energy. Find out more about her concrete innovations in this episode. Mo Li is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Irvine.   TRANSCRIPT: [sound of crane] NATALIE TSO,...

Andrei Shkel revolutionized the production of gyroscopes by miniaturizing them and using a glassblowing technology he observed from glass artists in Barcelona, Spain. Step into one of the most high precision gyroscope labs in the world and learn about how they're helping firefighters in this episode.  Transcript: [sound of wire bonder] [sci fi music] ELENA WOLGAMOT: This is the wire bonder. This a...

Dion Khodagholy is trying to cure epilepsy by implanting a neural interface on the brain. Khodagholy is a UCI associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science and has created the NeuroGrid which maps the brain's activity once it is placed on it.  Listen to the sound of the brain and learn why the NeuroGrid is such an effective neural electronic for the brain in this episode. Tran...

The UCI Rocket Project Liquids team is one of the few undergraduate teams that launched a methalox rocket in 2023. Methalox is the leading-edge fuel companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are using to get to Mars. Join this visit to the rocket lab as they prepare to launch their second-generation methalox rocket. Transcript: [male voice: 3 2 1. Ignition. Female voice: Good light, good light.] [Soun...

Alon Gorodetsky is creating materials that mimic the camouflage capabilities of squids that can change color, transparency and temperature. Learn how he figured out the secret of their skin and how it can be used for medicine, the military, smart fabrics and more. Transcript: [sci fi music] NATALIE TSO, HOST: What if you could change the color, transparency and temperature of your skin at any time...

Can hydrogen energy change the world? UCI Clean Energy Institute Director Jack Brouwer thinks so. His institute is creating sustainable hydrocarbon fuels for aviation and shipping. Listen as he shares his vision for how hydrogen energy can bring more equity and peace to the world. Transcript: [sci fi music] [Sound of electrolzyer spurting out oxygen] NATALIE TSO, HOST: That’s the electrolyzer at U...

Top roboticist Magnus Egerstedt explores whether robots can love in the UCI Robot Ecology Lab, where his altruistic robots take cues from animals. Egerstedt is the dean of the UCI Samueli School of Engineering and the creator of the SlothBot, RaccoonBot and the Robotarium, a swarm robot lab which has been used by over 7,000 researchers. Transcript:  [People laughing] MAGNUS EGERSTEDT: Raccoonbot!...

Stacy Copp's lab is using glowing light and color to see deep inside human tissues which could replace the need for X-rays. Listen to Copp, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, share her inspirations and ground breaking work at her UCI lab. Transcript: [Sci fi music] [Sound of lab machine automated spectrometer chirping] STACY COPP: This is an automated spectrometer. NATALI...

National Fuel Cell Research Center Director Iryna Zenyuk is striving to enable clean hydrogen to power everything from Olympic buses, trucks, the cement industry and more. A former chess champion, Zenyuk is a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UC Irvine. Transcript: [Sound of electrolyzer] [IRYNA ZENYUK: This is an electrolyzer, yeah] [sci fi music] NATALIE TSO, HOST: Today we’r...

Diran Apelian found a way to recycle EV batteries and co-founded the billion-dollar company Ascend Elements, one of TIME'S America's Top Ten Green Tech companies of 2024. Find out about the cutting-edge technology his lab uses to upcycle metal at UC Irvine's Samueli School of Engineering. Transcript: [sound of Tesla starting] [sci fi music] NATALIE TSO, HOST: What happens to EV batteries when we’r...

Ronke Olabisi is healing wounds without scars and making bone grow from seashells as she works on the 100 Year Starship Project which aims to enable travel beyond our solar system. Learn how Olabisi, UCI associate professor of biomedical engineering, is helping humans stay healthier in space and on Earth.  The 100 Year Starship Project was launched by the U.S. Department of Defense. Transcript: [s...

David Kisailus is turning urine into medical-grade material for bone and teeth implants and water purification. Learn how Kisailus is making bone implants more affordable through this new process of producing calcium phosphate from urea. Kisailus, a UCI professor of materials science and engineering, is the director of the well-known Biomimetrics and Nanostructured Materials Lab. Transcript: [sci...

Quinton Smith's 3D approach to stem cell engineering could revolutionize how we test drugs and do organ transplants. Learn about his innovative approach and why Popular Science named him a top 10 scientist on the cusp of changing the world in 2023. Smith is an  assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and the director of The Smith Lab @ UCI. Transcript: [sci fi music] [sound of...