This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro

CNN posted an intriguing story this week, about how several voting machine manufacturers are conducting "stress tests", to uncover possible flaws that might need to be fixed before the upcoming 2024 election. While that was of course, welcome news; it did make me wonder just how secure voting machines really are, in general, and what cybersecurity experts do to ensure they stay in tip-top shape. So, I asked Dr. John Nicholas, who many people in our area will remember as a Professor teaching Cybersecurity at the University of Akron for many years, but who also just recently; began his new job as the Director of the Center for Information and Communication Sciences, at Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana. Listen now, to learn not only about the machines, but also about the people who work behind the scenes to ensure our votes are counted accurately, and without interference.

Imagine being able to fly to LA for lunch, have a business meeting, and then be back home in time for dinner. It could happen, if a research project currently underway at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is successful in demonstrating that a new, high tech airplane can break the sound barrier without causing the noisy and destructive sonic booms that helped end commercial supersonic air travel in 2003. Listen now to our conversation with the Deputy Project Manager for the commercial supersonic technology project at NASA Glenn, Peggy Cornell, and with Walsh University President, Dr. Tim Collins. Cornell's background includes hands-on experience with jet engines, test engineering expertise in the effort to power space missions, and leadership roles in aeronautics, she has demonstrated exceptional and sustained contributions to aeronautics and space. In addition, she has more than 28 years of experience at NASA, most recently as an integral part of leadership teams supporting commercial supersonics, electrified aircraft, electric vertical takeoff/landing vehicles, unmanned aircraft systems, and other groundbreaking areas. Collins, who heads the North Canton-based Walsh University, is also a former Aviation technology researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , and US Air Force fighter pilot. He has more than 4,000 flying hours, including over 260 combat hours, as a command pilot in a variety of unmanned and manned fighter, tanker, reconnaissance, and command and control aircraft. He is a U.S. Air Force Command Pilot, a military parachutist, and is a credentialed Board President for both aviation Safety Investigation Boards and Accident Investigation Boards. We'll explore the history of supersonic flight, including the iconic Concorde Airliner, and find out what NASA is doing that they believe will completely revolutionize air travel. out what NASA is doing that they believe will completely revolutionize air travel.

What if your insurance company could use your DNA to raise your rates if they think you might get cancer someday? Or, what if a foreign adversary, like China, for example; could use DNA to reveal the true identity of all of our spies? Think that's farfetched? Well, Akron-based journalist, author, and cold-case DNA expert, James Renner doesn't think so. Find out why, as I explore advances in cold case DNA technology, and talk about the how the science we use to catch killers, could one day catch all of us in invisible data nets, violating our privacy in ways we can only barely imagine, today.

Thanks to a $450 thousand dollar grant from the National Science Foundation, Kent State University will offer a new summer robotics program open to undergraduate students from all over the country. We talked about it with Assistant Professor, Dr. Ye Lu, and Associate Dean Joycelyn Harrison, from the KSU College of Aeronautics and Engineering. Listen now.

Following up on our March 3 episode about clean water technology; today, we're talking about proposed new federal EPA regulations that would require testing for exceptionally dangerous chemicals that cannot be filtered out by the common methods used to make drinking water safe nationwide right now. We'll find out exactly what those "forever chemicals" are, how they're detected, and what would be necessary to remove them from our drinking water supply. Listen now, as I interview City of Akron Water Supply Bureau Manager, Jeff Bronowski.

The federal government's efforts to protect US citizens' sensitive data took on new urgency this week, as reports surfaced that the phones of more more than 50 top level government officials had been infected with sophisticated spyware. Also this week, President Biden issued an executive order banning US government agencies from using spyware that is deemed a threat to US national security or is implicated in human rights abuses. In addition, a bipartisan effort is underway in Congress that would give the federal government the power to ban foreign made hardware and software deemed to be a threat to national security, including (but not limited to) the popular Chinese-owned social media app, TikTok. But, why is TikTok being singled out for such intense scrutiny? Don't all mobile apps do the same thing? Shouldn't we all be concerned about the spies we carry around in our pockets? We talked about it with Computer Information Systems Professor, and Cybersecurity expert, Dr. John Nicholas, from the University of Akron.

The fallout from the recent Silicon Valley Bank collapse continues. Listen now as we talk about it with Kent State University Political Science Professor, Dr. Mark Cassell, who wrote two books on the banking industry. You can find "Banking on the State: the Political Economy of Public Savings Banks", and "How Governments Privatize: The Politics of Divestment in the United States and Germany", on Amazon.com.

The massive failure of Silicon Valley Bank is not only sending shock waves through the tech industry, but also through the entire US Banking industry, and it has the potential to disrupt the entire US economy. In fact, two other banks failed last week as well. Could it be a trend? That's why federal regulators took swift action to limit the damage yesterday, and why President Biden assured the nation that banks are safe, and our economy remains strong. But, how and why did this happen, and what can we do to protect our banks, our money, and our economy from meltdowns like this in future? Listen now, for our discussion with Kent State University Finance Professor, David Pelleg.

While there are already a lot of ways to save energy and money by retrofitting your home with new windows, weather stripping, and insulation; wouldn't it be cool if you could do even more, just by using a different kind of building material? Well, now you can–or, at least you'll be able to soon–as a result of a new tech breakthrough in energy efficient building materials pioneered by researchers at Purdue University. Listen now to our conversation with Purdue University Assistant Civil Engineering Professor, Dr. Mirian Velay-Lizancos.

*Please note, this story was updated to correct technical issues, on 3-6-23 This week, we're taking a deep dive into clean water technology. We decided to look into it, in response to the big train derailment and toxic chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio, which is about 76 miles Southeast of Akron. Is anything going on with their water going to affect us? Could the kind of thing that happened there, happen here? These are the kinds of questions that guided our conversations, but along the way, we encountered some surprises. For example: Did you know that breathing in the steam from your bathroom shower is actually (at least somewhat) hazardous to your health, because of the chemicals they put in the water to keep it safe to drink? No? Well, we didn't either. So, listen now to find out more, and get the whole back story on where we get our water, what is being done to protect it, and how there is always some give and take when it comes to reducing risk; including when you turn on the tap at home. Our featured guests today, are City of Akron Water Supply Bureau Manager, Jeff Bronowski, and Chris Miller, who the founder and CEO of Fontus Blue, a technology company that provides drinking water quality management software and services for communities in a number of different communities nationwide, including Akron.

This week, it's all about recent breakthroughs that point the way toward a future with better, faster, and more secure computers, as well as nearly unlimited clean energy. Listen now, for word from the National Science Foundation, about some new research being done now at the University of Rochester, which could make it easier to mass produce quantum computers. We'll also hear an easy to understand explanation of nuclear fusion from our featured guest , Physics Professor, Dr. Susan Ramlo, who now teaches in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Akron.

As the use of Artificial Intelligence increases; the race is on for humans to redefine themselves and their professional expertise. That's the word from author, organizational Psychologist, and Artificial Intelligence expert, Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, and the topic of his new book, "I, Human: AI, Automation, and the Quest to Reclaim What Makes Us Unique". This topic took on increasing urgency this week, as journalists from the New York Times and Washington Post testing Microsoft's new AI-powered BING search, and Google's new "BARD" AI-powered search, discovered both glaring innacuracies, and experienced bizarre, even frightening interactions. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. What happens when AI can replace people in jobs that at least so far, have been immune to automation, like doctors, lawyers, journalists, and other "knowledge workers"? How will people still be able to make a living? What will happen to our economy? What happens to the very fabric of our society? Listen now, to find out what we can do to stay relevant, keep our jobs, fight misinformation, and generally reclaim all that we are absolutely about to lose, in the age of ever more powerful and ubiquitous A-I.

From James Bond's super spy Aston Martin, to Elon Musk’s tricked-out Teslas; the cars we own, drive, and aspire to impress with, have had an outsized hold on America's consciousness and mythology for over 100 years. But, the problem is; we don't just drive them; they drive us to make monthly car payments, and lament the ever-increasing cost of gas, insurance, license tags, parking, and maintenance. But what are you going to do? Some lucky Americans live in cities where taking mass transit is easy, like in New York, and Washington, DC. But they're in the minority. Most of us need our own vehicle to get us where we need to go. And, even if you do have relatively easy access to decent mass transit; that doesn't necessarily mean it is all that convenient, particularly if you need to get somewhere that is not immediately adjacent to a subway line or bus route. At the same time; the environmental damage and health risks associated with burning fossil fuels is driving technological change in the form of more electric vehicles, along with smart technologies that have enabled both autonomous and connected vehicles. With that in mind; I had a conversation with author, educator, and designer, Carla Diana, who is currently working on a new book about a possible shift away from owning personal vehicles, toward a shared, "mobility-as-a-service" model.  But the question is; Will Americans ever willingly give up their own personal cars, in favor of making such a thing possible? The last time we spoke, was just after the publication of her book, "My Robot Gets Me: How Social Design Can Make New Products More Human".  Now, Diana says, she's fascinated by the possibility of a future where a variety of mass transit options accessed through advanced ride sharing software, could make the personal car passé, help reduce global warming, and give us all back a measure of personal freedom and community that we're missing now as we tool around town in our own private cars.

This week, how high tech concepts like 4-D imaging, are combining with ancient engineering technology from bees, and leading the way toward better, stronger, and safer structures from buildings to bridges. To find out how, listen to our conversation with Purdue University Professor of Materials Engineering, Dr. Nikhilesh Chawla, who is also the acting head of their Engineering Department.

A new artificial intelligence- powered chatbot called ChatGPT is taking the world of education by storm, because it can write so well; it can seem like its work was produced by a human.  In addition, the bot can write computer code, which could be harnessed by criminals or nation states bent on thievery, mayhem, and even cyber war. So, what can we do about it, how should educators respond, and what's next?  Find out, with Stark State College Associate Professor of Information Security, Glenn Goe, University of Akron Director of Online, Continuing, and Professional Education, Wendy Lampner, and Dr. Jennifer Marcinkiewicz, who is the Director of Kent State University's Center for Teaching and Learning.

You've probably heard by now that federal officials have been talking about the harmful effects of gas emissions from stoves, and the possibility of new regulations. But, what does that mean, or could it mean for you and your stove at home, and on a larger scale; what does it mean to global climate change overall? We'll find out today through a series of reports with experts in the area, including several from here in Ohio.

Seattle Public Schools sued a number of big tech companies this week, claiming the purposely addictive nature of their products is causing a mental health crisis that makes it both more difficult and expensive to educate their students. President Biden also came out this week calling on congress to more tightly regulate big tech companies, in part, because of the same concerns raised in federal court by Seattle schools. Listen now, as we explore that topic with Assistant Professor of Communications, Dr. Rhiannon Kallis, who teaches classes on Social Media at both the graduate and undergraduate level at the University of Akron:

Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown, who who chairs the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is once again raising concerns about consumers getting ripped off after investing in cryptocurrency. He's been advocating for regulations like those that apply to traditional US currency for quite some time, even warning at a hearing in July, 2021, “There’s nothing ‘democratic’ or ‘transparent’ about a shady, diffuse network of online funny money."   But now, in the aftermath of the massive FTX Cryptocurrency exchange meltdown, resulting in more than $8 billion dollars in losses for investors who traded on the $32 billion dollar platform, and multiple federal charges against its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried; he's kicking it up a notch, and once again calling for more consumer protection.    Listen now, to his comments from a recent Senate Banking Committee hearing, entitled "Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers”.  We'll also hear from Finance Professor, David Pelleg, who used to work on Wall Street, and teaches classes on Cryptocurrency, at Kent State University.

This week, as we look ahead into the New Year, we're looking back at one of our favorite stories from 2022; the transformation of toxic mine sludge that is polluting rivers and streams, into beautiful artist pigments, by a couple of Professors at Ohio University in Athens. Listen now to find out more, with Area Chair, Professor of Painting + Drawing and Area Chair of Digital Art + Technology, John Sabraw.

Police departments nationwide are stretched thin, and increasingly using technology to help them collect, analyze, and make decisions based on data from multiple sources. Listen now to find out how the Akron Police Dpartment is using license plate reader cameras in high crime neighborhoods, doorbell cameras on private homes, a data integration system that can allow them to access both public and private surveillance videos, and mobile phone tracking software. Our special guest today, is Akron Deputy Police Chief, Michael Caprez: