Recent Posts
Sciographies – Episode 8 – Jason Brown, Mathematician Thu, Sep 19, 2019In this episode, we interview Dalhousie University mathematician Dr. Jason Brown. We talk to him about his early days playing guitar in a band with his siblings, the real-world applications of graph theory, and the mathematics behind Beatles music.
In his free time, Dr. Brown enjoys playing music and writing songs. He’s been performing in front of audiences for decades and has even recorded his own album (Songs in the Key of Pi).
Back in 2004, some of Dr. Brown’s research made international headlines when he first used the power of math to figure out what was really going on with the mysterious opening chord of A Hard Day’s Night by the Beatles. Since then, he’s continued to explore music mathematically and publish the results.
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- Sciographies – Episode 7 – Sara Iverson, Marine Biologist Thu, Sep 12, 2019
In this episode, we interview Dr. Sara Iverson to learn about her upbringing in Michigan, her fascinating path through university and grad school, what it’s like to work in the field with wild animals, and how to tag sharks and track them for studies that inform conservation policies.
Dr. Sara Iverson is a marine biologist with Dalhousie University and the Scientific Director of the Ocean Tracking Network. She’s also a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada—an honour that recognizes her life’s work studying physiological ecology. Her research takes her to remote locations in North America and the Arctic to study seabirds, seals, sea lions and polar bears in their natural habitats. Mattel and National Geographic even chose her as the role model for their recently-released polar marine biologist Barbie. Learn more at dal.ca/sciographies.
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Hali-facts – Ep 04 Mon, Jan 21, 2019Rev. Russell Elliott was born in 1917. When he graduated from university in 1937, some of his classmates were going off to fight in WWII. He has lived all over Nova Scotia, watching it, the communities he made home and the entire world around him change in so many different ways over so many years. He witnessed the effects of the Great Depression. He was 10 when the television was invented and well into his teens when the first one came into his home. A few months over a century in age, he recalls his past as if it was yesterday. To start off 2019, Hali-facts hopes this conversation simply offers you perspective on life from someone who has lived a long and unique one.
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- Hali-facts – Ep 03 Tue, Nov 20, 2018
The University of King’s College, Canada’s oldest chartered university, is trying to determine if it had any ties to slavery in the 17th and 18th centuries. The questions do not only surround Nova Scotia’s uncomfortable past but also how that past continues into today.
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- Hali-facts – Ep 02 Thu, Nov 15, 2018
Cannabis is now legal in Canada. So, why, days before legalization, did Halifax police bust two dispensaries and charge 10 people? And why are some dispensaries, which are technically illegal, deciding to stay open?
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- Hali-facts – Ep 01 Thu, Oct 11, 2018
Halifax is the first municipality in Canada to put a Legacy Space in its city hall. What does this mean in the bigger picture of Reconciliation?
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- Episode 6: Jeff Dahn, Battery Scientist Thu, Sep 20, 2018
He went from the varsity soccer team at Dalhousie to striking a deal that made him Tesla’s first university research partner ever. Physicist Jeff Dahn isn’t one to “stand around and let grass grow” under his feet. He has led a highly-acclaimed career in battery science. Known around the world as one of the pioneering developers of the lithium-ion batteries now found in portable electronics, power tools, electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage, Dr. Dahn has been recognized with awards like Canada’s NSERC Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal in Science and Engineering. Now an Industrial Research Chair with NSERC and Tesla Canada, Dr. Dahn works to improve how much energy Li-ion batteries can store, how long they last over time, and how they’re made in an effort to reduce their cost. In between running his 25-member lab group, he teaches the first-year physics course at Dalhousie. In this episode, he talks about how he built a successful career as a scientist in government, industry and academia. He also comments on how Li-ion batteries are currently the best energy storage solution but alternatives, while in their infancy now, can also help us solve our energy problems in the future.
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- Ep 05 – Sciographies – Sarah Wells, Biomedical Engineer – Heart Tissues & Spider Silk Wed, Aug 15, 2018
She went from feeling personally responsible for documenting a lunar eclipse as a kid to taking hints from nature to inspire her research as a biomedical scientist and engineer. Dr. Sarah Wells is the Assistant Dean of the Medical Sciences program at Dalhousie University and a professor in both the Department of Physics and Atmospheric Sciences and the School of Biomedical Engineering. She tells us about reading every astronomy book in the Lucan, Ontario library and her work on understanding natural materials like heart tissues in pregnant women. Having a fundamental understanding of how natural materials work, she says, can lead to better high-performance engineering materials, medical treatments and more.
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- Ep 04 – Sciographies – Jordan Kyriakidis, Physicist & CEO – Quantum Computing and Asking the Right Questions Wed, Aug 15, 2018
He went from quantum theory to co-founding his own tech start-up. Jordan Kyriakidis grew up in Toronto, the child of Greek immigrants. He makes bold moves. First, he moved halfway across the country with his then-girlfriend after his second year of undergrad. Now he’s the CEO and President of QRA Corp., a company the associate professor with Dal’s Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science formed after working with an industry partner on quantum computing research. He tells us about how being a scientist isn’t so different from being a CEO, the difference between theoretical physics and experimental physics, and how an automated future demands innovation in science and engineering.
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Ep 03 Sciographies Mita Dasog Mon, Jul 16, 2018She went from a little girl playing in her dad’s laboratory in India to earning recognition as one of Canada’s Top 150 Women in STEM last year. Mita Dasog started university at age 16, got hired as a summer research assistant at 17, then earned her PhD in her mid-20s. Now she’s an assistant professor of chemistry and her work involves designing new materials for use in renewable energy solutions. She tells us about growing up in India, how she fell in love with science, and the challenges she and other scientists face as they try to move society away from burning fossil fuels for energy.
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