STEMxm: The STEM Career Podcast

STEMxm Episode 27 -  Laboratory Research without a PhD, Rosa Hoyle "Forget about what you think people are thinking about you, and just try your hardest. That's the wonderful thing about science. People respect hard work and your results talk a lot more than your appearance... What people really care about in science is what you're publishing, what you're giving to the scientific community..." -Rosa Hoyle Rosa's LinkedIn Profile The laboratory Rosa works in is Dr. David Holtzman's Neuroscience Lab which is studying Alzheimers disease. Here are a few of the major items we discussed: Alzheimer's Disease Antibodies Plaques & tangles Ted Talk about Alzheimers that Mel mentioned: click here

STEMxm Episode 26 -  Paleo-Oceanography with Jennifer Walker This is the 4th episode in a series touching on climate change careers and research. Check out the others here: Episode 23 - Atmospheric Physics with Dr. Joanna Haigh Episode 24 - Theoretical Ecology with Dr. Emily Moberg Episode 25 - Ocean Corals and Climate Change with Dr. Jessica Carilli Envirothon - Environmental resources research competition for highschoolers Related Headline: Sea level rise in 20th century was fastest in 3,000 years, Rutgers-led study finds Rutgers Department website where Jennifer is completing a PhD   Research concepts discussed with Jennifer on episode 26 Proxy - "In paleoclimatology, or the study of past climates, scientists use what is known as proxy data to reconstruct past climate conditions. These proxy data are preserved physical characteristics of the environment that can stand in for direct measurements. Paleoclimatologists gather proxy data from natural recorders of climate variability such as tree rings, ice cores, fossil pollen, ocean sediments, corals and historical data. By analyzing records taken from these and other proxy sources, scientists can extend our understanding of climate far beyond the instrumental record." Foraminifera are a species that are used as proxy indicators for scientists like Jennifer to study historic sea level changes. "Foraminifera (forams for short) are single-celled protists with shells. Their shells are also referred to as tests because in some forms the protoplasm covers the exterior of the shell. The shells are commonly divided into chambers which are added during growth, though the simplest forms are open tubes or hollow spheres. Depending on the species, the shell may be made of organic compounds, sand grains and other particles cemented together, or crystalline calcite." You can read a peer-reviewed article about that here. Sediment Stratigraphy - "The branch of geology that seeks to understand the geometric relationships between different rock layers (called strata), and to interpret the history represented by these rock layers." Marsh - "A marsh is a type of wetland, an area of land where water covers ground for long periods of time. Unlike swamps, which are dominated by trees, marshes are usually treeless and dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants. Herbaceous plants have no woody stem above ground, and they grow and die back on a regular cycle. Herbaceous plants can be annuals (which grow anew every year), biennials (which take two years to complete their life cycle), or perennials (which take more than two years to complete their life cycle.) Marsh grasses and other herbaceous plants grow in the waterlogged but rich soil deposited by rivers. The plants roots bind to the muddy soil and slow the water flow, encouraging the spread of the marsh. These watery pastures are rich in biodiversity. There are three types of marshes: tidal salt marshes, tidal freshwater marshes, and inland freshwater marshes. Marshes are also common in deltas, where rivers empty into a larger body of water. Although all are waterlogged and dominated by herbaceous plants, they each have unique ecosystems." Glacial isostatic adjustment - the ongoing movement of land once burdened by ice-age glaciers.

STEMxm Episode 25 -  Ocean Corals and Climate Change with Jessica Carilli, PhD This is the 2nd episode in a series touching on climate change careers and research. Check out the others here: Episode 23 - Atmospheric Physics with Dr. Joanna Haigh Episode 24 - Theoretical Ecology with Dr. Emily Moberg Where Jessica earned a PhD - Scripps Institution of Oceanography Stuff we discussed  -- How are scientists able to "go back in time" to study how the environment was on earth many years ago? Ocean floor core sampling Tree rings as a way to understand the environment in years past (Dendrochronology) - This audio clip is an excellent explanation of how scientists use tree rings in combination other data to perform dating: listen here Ice corps from Greenland and Antarctica Corals also have annual layers they grow through time. You can use these similarly We also spoke with Dr. Holmes in episode 14 about core sampling! How do scientists date this stuff? Radiometric clocks! How carbon dating works (must click through all pages)! Ice core sample dating works and what the heck is ferne? Now Corals... How do we date corals?  More core sampling! Then what?  X-rays and Cat-scans for corals Proxies of past ocean chemistry How does sediment runoff impact corals?   Phytoplankton Zooplankton Ocean acidification Saltwater Science Blog (no longer active) Jessica's personal Blog Jessica's Twitter   STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 24 -  Theoretical Ecology with Emily Moberg, PhD This is the 2nd episode in a series touching on climate change careers and research. Check out the others here:  Episode 23 - Atmospheric Physics with Dr. Joanna Haigh Episode 25 - Ocean Corals and Climate Change with Dr. Jessica Carilli Emily's blog Stuff we talked about Fishery Envirothon - the Environmental science competition that Emily participated in as a high schooler Phytoplankton Micro-fluidics Impacts of climate change on fish populations NOAA Marine Stewardship Council Impacts on fish with Reef focus Where Emily went to school/did research Woods Hill Oceanographic Institute MIT & WHOI joint program MIT Civil & Environmental Engineering

STEMxm Episode 23 -  Atmospheric Physics with Dr. Joanna Haigh This is the 2nd episode in a series touching on climate change careers and research. Check out the others here:  Episode 24 - Theoretical Ecology with Dr. Emily Moberg Episode 25 - Impact of Human Activity on Coral Reefs with Dr. Jessica Carilli Dr. Joanna Haigh has been Co-Director of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College since 2014. For the previous 5 years she was Head of the Department of Physics. Joanna's scientific interests include radiative transfer in the atmosphere, climate modelling, radiative forcing of climate change and the influence of solar irradiance variability on climate. She has published widely on these topics in the scientific literature and also contributed to numerous items to the written and broadcast popular media. She has been President of the Royal Meteorological Society, Editor of Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society and of the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, a Lead Author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and acted on many UK and international panels.  She is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Institute of Physics, the City & Guilds and the Royal Meteorological Society and an Honorary Fellow of Somerville College Oxford.  She was awarded the Institute of Physics Charles Chree Medal and Prize 2004, the Royal Meteorological Society Adrian Gill Prize 2010 and appointed CBE in the 2013 New Years Honours. Articles featuring Dr. Haigh British scientist face a 'huge hit' if the US cuts climate change research Scientist warns global warming is a run away train Discussion Topics: Meteorology Electromagnetic versus ionizing radiation Atmospheric heating, cause of winds Stratospheric ozone Ozone hole Gas phase chemistry versus chemistry on clouds Fourier Transforms Guy Stewart Callendar - attributed to positing how CO2 can increase earth's temperature Atmospheric lives of greenhouse gases CO2, Methane, Nitrous Oxides, Flourocarbons The Montreal Protocol Paris Conference 2015 At the time of this episode's release, this is something the current US administration is considering reneging on. If you feel strongly that it is also our duty to join other nations in taking steps to curtail climate change impacts, you should speak up to your local legislators (Senators, House Representatives) immediately. Heat waves in Russiahttp://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2011/03/16/science.1201224 Sun spots STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 22 (Part 2)-  Environmental Water Quality with Tracy Fanara, PhD This is the 6th episode in a series on water and wastewater careers. Check out the others here: Water/Wastewater Treatment Operations with Stacy Passaro, Episode 17 Municipal Water and Wastewater Master Planning with Kristiana Dragash, Episode 18 Drinking Water Treatment with Emily Moore, Episode 19 Green Infrastructure & Stormwater Management with Bethany Bezak, Episode 20 Environmental Water Quality with Tracy Fanara, Part 1, Episode 21 Tracy Fanara's profile on The Science Channel Q&A with Tracy Stuff we chatted about... University of Florida Environmental Engineering Ecotoxicology Endocrine disruptors Tracy's work experience Low Impact Development (LID) Stormwater detention / retention Tracy at Mote Marine Laboratory EPA Rainworks Challenge Growing coral in a lab that successfully transitions to living in the wild Shark research at Mote Red Tide Bloom Mote app analyzes red tide data Cyano bacteria STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 21-  Environmental Water Quality with Tracy Fanara, PhD This is the 5th episode in a series on water and wastewater careers. Check out the others here: Water/Wastewater Treatment Operations with Stacy Passaro, Episode 17 Municipal Water and Wastewater Master Planning with Kristiana Dragash, Episode 18 Drinking Water Treatment with Emily Moore, Episode 19 Green Infrastructure & Stormwater Management with Bethany Bezak, Episode 20   Tracy Fanara's profile on The Science Channel Q&A with Tracy Stuff we chatted about... The Love Canal Tragedy Erin Brokovich Where Tracy first went to college and learned about plate tectonics - Hobart William Smith University of Florida Environmental Engineering Dr. Chadik Ecotoxicology Endocrine disruptors Tracy's work experience One of the early company's Tracy worked at was Malcolm Pirnie. Later, that company was purchased by Arcadis. Cross connection design for developers Low Impact Development (LID) Stormwater detention / retention Tracy going back to school for graduate work Where does stormwater go? Understanding how to get funded for a PhD [seeking legit sources. Have one? Email it to me please!] Phosphorus or Nutrient Limited Watershed Rehabilitation Tracy at Mote Marine Laboratory EPA Rainworks Challenge Growing coral in a lab that successfully transitions to living in the wild Shark research at Mote Red Tide Bloom Mote app analyzes red tide data Sea SIC Cyano bacteria STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 20-  Green Infrastructure and Stormwater Management, Bethany Bezak This is the 4th episode in a series on water and wastewater careers. Check out the others here: Water/Wastewater Treatment Operations with Stacy Passaro, Episode 17 Municipal Water and Wastewater Master Planning with Kristiana Dragash, Episode 18 Drinking Water Treatment with Emily Moore, Episode 19 Where Bethany earned her BS - Lawrence Technological University Where Bethany earned her MS - Virginia Tech University Terminology: Green Infrastructure Combined Sewer System Combined Sewer Overflows Rain garden   STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 19-  Environmental Engineer & Drinking Water Expert, Emilie Moore This is the 3rd episode in a series on water and wastewater careers. Check out the others here: Water/Wastewater Treatment Operations with Stacy Passaro, Episode 17 Municipal Water and Wastewater Master Planning with Kristiana Dragash, Episode 18 Emilie Moore is an Environmental Engineer with expertise in drinking water treatment process design. Emilie has a BS in Environmental Engineering from the University of Florida and a Masters in Engineering Management from the University of Kansas.  She currently works as a Senior Project Manager and Area Manager for Tetra Tech. She performs water supply planning, water treatment design, water distribution system design, wastewater collection system design, and wastewater treatment process design. Here are some of the things mentioned on this episode that you might be interested in learning more about... Drinking Water Treatment Processes Overall view of common treatment processes Coagulation and Flocculation Sedimentation Disinfection Corrosion Inhibition Fluoridation RO as treatment for seawater or brackish water   Other stuff Disinfection Byproducts Emerging Contaminants Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water EPA Regulations for Drinking Water   STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 18-  Environmental Engineer & Master Planning Expert, Kristiana Dragash This is the 2nd episode in a series on water and wastewater careers. Check out the others here: Water/Wastewater Treatment Operations with Stacy Passaro, Episode 17 Drinking Water Treatment Process Design with Emilie Moore, Episode 19 Kristiana Dragash is a licensed professional environmental engineering consultant for Carollo. She has special expertise in municipal water and wastewater master planning, as well as hydraulic modeling. At the time of recording this podcast, Kristiana works for Carollo Engineer and also serves as the Vice-President of the Florida Water Environment Association. Where Krisitiana went to school: University of South Florida department of Engineering Learn about reclaimed water here Learn about master planning here Learn some of the basics of pipe flow hydraulics here Learn about water age here and drinking water disinfectant residual here Here's the smart ball that Kristiana mentioned. Organization mentioned on the episode - Water Environment Federation (WEF) and Florida Water Environment Association (FWEA) American Water Works Association American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) - Environment & Water Resource Institute Where Kristiana worked at the time of recording: Carollo Engineers  STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 17-  Environmental Engineer & WW Ops Expert, Stacy Passaro This is the 1st episode in a series on water and wastewater careers. Check out the others here: Municipal Water and Wastewater Master Planning with Kristiana Dragash, Episode 18 Drinking Water Treatment Process Design with Emilie Moore, Episode 19 Stacy Passaro is an environmental engineer based out of Maryland. She has extensive water and wastewater treatment process design experience. Over time, she developed special expertise in the operations of treatment systems. Stacy now owns and runs her own engineering consulting firms. Where Stacy went to school Clarkson University Engineering John Hopkins Engineering Water Environment Federation (WEF) Topics we discussed: Here's a good page on the EPA site to help you understand why nutrients in water are bad. Learn more about nutrient pollution specific to the Chesapeake Bay here. Learn about Algal Blooms here and here. Learn about the importance of aquatic bay grasses here and here. The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES permit) What do water and wastewater treatment plant operators do? STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 16-  Dream Big Film | DiscoverE | Bridges to Prosperity Who was on the episode: Avery Bang trained as a geo-technical engineer at the University of Colorado Boulder before joining Bridges to Prosperity where she now serves as Executive Director. Bridges to Prosperity is a non-profit organization that builds cable-stayed pedestrian bridges throughout the developing world. With design, program development and construction experience in nearly a dozen countries, she has more than doubled the size of the operation. When describing what she does, Avery asks people to imagine what it would have been like for them to get to their elementary school if the infrastructure they had—bridges, roads, etc—didn’t exist. She explains that she helps people in the developing world build projects that many people often take for granted. Menzer Pehlivan is a geotechnical engineer specializing in earthquake engineering. Named one of the “2016 New Faces of Engineering” by the American Society of Civil Engineers, Menzer was inspired to build more resilient communities and reduce the risk associated with earthquakes following the 1999 Kocaeli Earth- quake in Turkey,which she experienced as a young girl. She received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 2013 and has worked on numerous geotechnical and earthquake projects in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. She currently works as a geotechnical engineer on critical infrastructure projects at CH2M in Seattle. Thea Sahr is an award-winning producer of national education outreach initiatives and messaging campaigns for multimedia projects. She has over 25 years experience at such organizations as the Museum of Science (Boston), WGBH Educational Foundation, and am now at DiscoverE. She has been a successful team leader and creator of evergreen resources that teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts. She focuses, in particular, on dispelling stereotypes about engineering and science, and encouraging girls and minorities to pursue STEM education and careers.   Places to connect if you’d like to get an engineer to come speak in your classroom (keep in mind, most of these organizations have local chapters, so the national organization should be able to put you in touch with the local chapter if you don’t find them with a google search…): American Society of Civil Engineers American Society of Mechanical Engineers Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers American Institute of Chemical Engineers   STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 15-  Coder & CorgiBytes CEO, Andrea Goulet CorgiBytes | Technical? Non-Technical? Both! | Andrea's LinkedIn Graphene Girl talk barbie :( The Project Management tool we discussed = Slack The Movie - Inception One of the Places Andrea spoke at - Dot Net Fringe Here are some resources about (and how to overcome) Imposter Syndrome: Afraid of Being 'Found Out'? How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome Learning to Deal with the Imposter Syndrome Another take on Slate Sources for beginning your journey to learning code: CS50 at Harvard Computer Science for Everyone by the Great Courses (note: Great Courses are often available for check out at your local library) Free Code Camp Code.org Code Combat Kahn Academy Andrea mentioned research about how women have not historically applied for positions where they don't meet or exceed all the criteria. Here is some related research: Why Women Don't Apply for Jobs Unless They're 100% Qualified Are Women Too Timid When They Job Search   STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 14-  GeoScience with Clay Expert, Dr. Mary Anne Holmes Mary Anne Holmes' UNL Profile  | University of Nebraska Lincoln Women in the Geosciences: Practical, Positive Practices Toward Parity by Mary Anne Holmes Core Sample on Wikipedia Interesting Vid about Core Sampling Dr. Holmes mentioned several different types of clay minerals. To learn more about clay minerals, you can start your search here. Where are the Women Geoscience Professors? ADVANCE by NSF - Institutional Transformation (IT) Award Gender differences in recommendation letters for postdoctoral fellowships in geoscience by Kuheli Dutt (Summary) Environmental Justice What is Remote Sensing by NOAA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) by NASA - Groundwater modelling data   STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 13-  Planetary Science & Lunar Geology with Sarah Noble, NASA Sarah's profile at NASA | Sarah on Twitter | Sarah's Interplanetary Art A closer look at Planetary Geology with Sarah Noble Lunar and Planetary Institute - Lunar and Planetary Conference that Sarah mentioned on the podcast is connected to this Division for Planetary Scientists - American Astronomical Society Association for Women Geoscientists   NASA Missions that Sarah is (or has) working on: LADEE - Lunar Atmosphere Dust & Environmental Explorer Mars 2020   Other Stuff Sarah is Responsible for: PDART - Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools PSTAR - Planetary Science and Technology from Analog Research   STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 12-  Learning to Love Mathematics with Vanessa Vakharia Vanessa's Website: The Math Guru | Math Guru Facebook Page | Vanessa on Twitter  | Instagram Read Vanessa's Thesis: Imagining a World Where Paris Hilton Loves Math The JC Penney Shirt Vanessa on She Does the City Vanessa on SavageOM   STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 11-  Plastics Engineering with Jen Schmidt Jen Schmidt went to Pen State Behrend, which is the Erie campus. She studied Plastics Engineering technology and graduated in the year 2000. At the time of recording, Jen worked for Beaumont Technologies as a Design Engineer. She is also an expert certified Autodesk mold flows instructor, and she’s been doing that for 10 about years. Stuff we discussed: Mold Flow by Autodesk Finite Element Method (Analysis) The Laundry commercial... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xogBz71IHAo Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) - You can contact them to find out more information about careers in Plastics and to ask for insights on the different plastics engineering degree programs around the country.   STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 10-  Transportation Engineering in NYC with Patricia Valoy Patricia (Patty Valoy) is a Latina activist, blogger, and an Engineer/Project Manager promoting STEM education for women and underrepresented minorities. She uses her experiences as a Latina and an engineer to advocate and inspire girls and minorities considering careers in the fields of STEM. She earned a BS in Civil Engineering from Columbia University in 2008. Her work mostly revolves around the Latino/a community, feminism, cultural identity, gender stereotypes, and workplace sexism. Patty's past presentations include: Women in STEM Fields panel presentation, SUNY Fredonia, March 2016. Latino/a Feminism and Ethno-Racial Identity presentation, Kellogg Community College, March 2016. Transnational/Global Feminism, Global Identity presentation, Cornell College, January 2016. Gender Bias, Sexism, and Stereotypes in STEM presentation, Xavier University, October 2015. The Role of Feminism in Fighting Sexism in STEM Fields presentation, Dickenson College, February 2015. Gender Bias, Sexism, and Stereotypes in STEM presentation, Carnegie Mellon University, February 2015. Patty on Twitter Patty in the Washington Post: This Latina engineer owns her feminism, one mansplainer at a time Patty on Everyday Feminism 4 Reasons Why Making STEM Pink to Get Girls Interested is Absurd with Patty Valoy Patty on Ravishly   STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 9-  Bias, Sexism and Bullying in STEM post-election, Discussion and Commentary  Mariel Kolker: Ms. Kolker earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rutgers in 1987. In her early career, she worked for Con Edison in manholes, inside transformers, power plants, substations, and the Emergency Control Center. She went on to earn an MBA in Finance from Fordham in 1995. She worked in finance for Con Edison, and in marketing and operations for PSE&G.  She transitioned to a teaching role in the year 2000. Today, Ms. Kolker teaches at Morristown High School.  Prior to this, she taught physics & engineering at Watchung Hills Regional High School and Morris Hills Regional High School, having had babies in between each. Ms. Kolker strives to bring real-world practicality to the teaching of both physics and engineering.  She focuses on skills that are relevant and desirable in the workplace. You can find her blog here. Dr. Jack Gilbert:  Professor Jack A Gilbert earned his Ph.D. from Unilever and Nottingham University, UK in 2002, and received his postdoctoral training at Queens University, Canada. He subsequently returned to the UK in 2005 to Plymouth Marine Laboratory as a senior scientist until his move to Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago in 2010. Currently, Professor Gilbert is in Department of Surgery at the University of Chicago, and is Group Leader for Microbial Ecology at Argonne National Laboratory. He is also Associate Director of the Institute of Genomic and Systems Biology, Research Associate at the Field Museum of Natural History, and Senior Scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory. Dr. Gilbert uses molecular analysis to test fundamental hypotheses in microbial ecology. He has authored more than 200 peer reviewed publications and book chapters on metagenomics and approaches to ecosystem ecology. In 2014 he was recognized on Crain’s Business Chicago’s 40 Under 40 List, and in 2015 he was listed as one of the 50 most influential scientists by Business Insider, and in the Brilliant Ten by Popular Scientist.   Resources & Articles Growth Mindset versus Fixed Mindset ~ Carol S. Dweck, PhD Gender Gap in STEM majors linked to high school job plans Michelle Dickinson is Nano Girl on YouTube; her TED talk Unconscious Bias Sexism in Science: Science postdoc told to grin and bear prof's wandering eye Thoughts on STEM Diversity by Dr. Jonathan Eisen The Mistrust of Science - A New Yorker article by Atul Gawande We Will Not Mourn, We Will Organize - Gloria Steinem   STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher:

STEMxm Episode 8-  Interview with Kayla Carter, BioMedical Engineer Kayla Carter is a Healthcare Technology Consultant with expertise in the development of electro-mechanical medical device (inclusive of software) and medical device audits. She earned a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Syracuse University, and an MS in Healthcare Technology Management from Marquette University. A the time of podcast publication, Kayla is pursuing a PhD at Purdue University while running her own medical device consulting company. You can reach out to Kayla on Twitter! Some Useful Links: Biomedical Engineering as a Career Path in the Occupational Outlook Handbook Beckman Coulter Batelle BioMedical and Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University Healthcare Technologies Management Program at Marquette University National Society of Black Engineers American Indian Science and Engineering Society Here is a video about the brain implant for the paralyzed patient to help them move their hands that Kayla discussed (she worked on this while at Batelle). Super cool!!  STEMxm is available on iTunes & Stitcher: