The OIST Podcast

In episode #4 of the Connectomics podcast , Mark speaks with theoretical cognitive scientist Marek McGann.  Marek is a lecturer in the psychology department in Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, Ireland. In this episode they talked about Marek existing at the intersection of enaction and ecological psychology, the concept of behaviour settings and his understanding of agency as a multiscale affa...

In episode #3 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark speaks with philosopher Laura Mojica.  At the time of recording Laura was also working in the Embodied Cognitive Science Unit at OIST. Laura works on the notion of normativity from an enactive standpoint, though she brings her experience working in analytic philosophy to bear on the topic. Laura is also very concerned with how enaction intersects wit...

In episode #2 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark speaks with Dr. Fred Cummin, head of the Cognitive Science program at University College Dublin.    Fred is a linguist and the originator of the field of study that is joint speech: where two or more people say the same thing at the same time, such as within religious rituals, at sporting events, or at political protests. Fred is also an incredibly w...

In episode #1 of the Connectomics podcast, Mark speaks with Dr. Tom Froese, head of the Embodied Cognitive Science Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST).  The conversation touches on the central themes of embodied cognitive science and the enactive framework in particular, the methods of this approach, the mission of the unit at OIST, and some of the implications of develo...

Connectomics explores the intersection between embodied cognitive science, philosophy, culture, technology and design. 

In this episode Dr. Teresa Iglesias, team leader for cephalopod support in OIST's Animal Resources Section, talks about her career working with cephalopods, that is octopus, cuttlefish, and squid, and what they can tell us about animal behavior and two-stage sleep.

The Connectomics podcast, a spin-off from the OIST podcast, explores the intersection between embodied cognitive science, philosophy, culture, technology and design.  In this intro episode of Connectomics, host, Mark James, research fellow in OIST's Embodied Cognitive Science Unit , asks the question 'Where is my mind?' and introduces you to some ideas that will provide some – possibly – surprisin...

Will robots become researchers? On this episode, Prof. Hiroaki Kitano talks about his vision for utilizing AI to move beyond human limitations in the lab and to revolutionize scientific discovery.

In this episode of the OIST podcast, Dr. Dan Warren talks about his many research projects, or 'hobbies', that use quantitative methods to answer questions about the natural world.

Podcast host, Lucy Dickie, speaks to four female researchers about the challenges that come with being a woman working in STEM, their own personal experiences, and what they would like to see change.

In this episode, Prof. Filip Husnik, who leads the Evolution, Cell Biology, and Symbiosis Unit, talks about his research on symbiosis. Tune in to hear about coral reefs, insects, the deep sea, and Okinawa's star sand.

This episode, Lucy Dickie speaks to Prof. Sam Reiter about cephalopods, the emerging field of neuroethology, and how we can learn more about the brain and intelligence.

This episode is all about scientific outreach. Science Communicator Lucy Dickie speaks to a community relations staff member and two scientists about outreach and what it was like running the annual OIST science festival during the time of COVID-19. 

It's part two of our clownfish podcast! Professor Tim Ravasi uses clownfish to determine how a warmer, more acidic ocean might impact fish communities. Science Communicator Lucy Dickie caught up with him to find out more.

This episode is all about clownfish! Science Communicator Lucy Dickie speaks to Professor Vincent Laudet who leads OIST's Marine Eco-Evo-Devo Unit and uses the well-known orange-and-white fish as his model species. 

Margaret Mars Brisbin is a recent OIST graduate whose PhD focused on Acantharians – tiny, marine organisms. Science communication fellow, Lucy Dickie, spoke to Maggi about this research, marine conservation more broadly, and why it's important for marine scientists to inspire others to care about the ocean. 

In this episode, we speak to OIST Provost Professor Mary Collins about COVID-19. We talk about the virus but also OIST's response to the outbreak in Okinawa, and the many projects that have been started here to help contain the spread within the community.

This episode Lucy Dickie speaks to OIST adjunct researcher Professor Greg Stephens about quantifying behavior. Greg looks at systems across the biological world, from tiny wiggling worms and rowdy zebrafish to crowds of people.

In this episode of the OIST podcast, we talk with Michael Izumiyama and Billy Moore. Both are first year marine science students and have just returned from a two-week research expedition to New Caledonia. We talked about their research, their favorite dive spots and when they first became interested in the ocean.

This episode we're I'm talking with James Higa, Okinawan raised luminary of Silicon Valley. We talk Apple, philanthropy, and the future of tech in Okinawa and beyond.

This episode, we talk with OIST Researcher Dr. Tamar Gutnick about working with animals, choosy tortoises, petting stingrays and the mysterious lives of wibbly-wobbly cephalopods.

Today we're chatting with Dr GP. Yeh - veteran of FermiLab for 30 years, and now heading up the GP Yeh Foundation as well as being a member of the advisory board fro the OIST Foundation. Dr. Yeh talks with us about his foundation's projects to develop particle therapies for cancer sufferers, sustainable energy, and his boundless enthusiasm for the solutions science offers.

This episode, we talk to Dr. Thomas Kornberg, professor of biochemistry and biophysics in the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco. He obtained his BA and PhD degrees at Columbia University in New York.  His work on cellular communication mechanisms led to the discovery of cytonemes , the thin cellular projections that are specialized for the exchange of...

Tadashi Tokieda is a professor in the Department of Mathematics, Stanford University.  He grew up as a painter in Japan, became a classical philologist in France, and has been an applied mathematician in Europe and elsewhere.  He is active in outreach in the developing world, especially via the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences.  At the last International Congress of Mathematicians he ga...

Samaya Nissanke is an astrophysicist at the University of Amsterdam's center of excellence for Gravitation and Astroparticle Physics (GRAPPA). She is also a joint faculty member at the Anton Pannekoek Institute and the Institute for High Energy Physics.   This episode, Dr. Nissanke talks about a cosmic scavenger hunt to find evidence of merging events in binary neutron stars using an array of tele...