Driven to Discover

Jinjun Xiong was a young computer scientist working on AI technology at IBM when the company’s Watson computer famously beat the top human players on “Jeopardy!”. But while the rest of the world oohed and aahed, Xiong wondered if we should be using AI for a higher purpose—not to defeat humans, but to help them. Now a SUNY Empire Innovation Professor at the University at Buffalo and director of UB’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Xiong is fully immersed in designing AI solutions for the betterment of society. In this episode of Driven to Discover, Xiong talks to host Cory Nealon about the epiphany that drove his career choices, the AI projects he’s most excited about at UB, and why he thinks people should stop freaking out about the downsides of AI and be more energized by its possibilities. Credits:   Host: Cory Nealon Guest: Jinjun Xiong Writer: Laura Silverman Production and editing by UB Video Production Group Coming on Jan 30: Host Tom Dinki speaks with communication professor Mark Frank about his journey from perceptive bar bouncer to an internationally recognized expert on nonverbal communication who has worked with the FBI and CIA.

There are few people more qualified to weigh in on the legalization of cannabis than psychologist R. Lorraine Collins, a renowned addictions expert who started researching the drug decades ago, long before the wave of legalization began sweeping the U.S. In this episode of Driven to Discover, David Hill talks to Collins, a SUNY Distinguished Professor at the University at Buffalo and director of the Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, about the pros and cons of legal cannabis, what New York State is getting right (and wrong) in its legalization journey, the historical racism behind cannabis being designated a Schedule I substance, and why it’s so critical for research that the federal government reclassify it. Credits:   Host: David Hill Guest: R. Lorraine Collins Writer: Laura Silverman Production and editing by UB Video Production Group Coming on Jan 30: Host Tom Dinki speaks with communication professor Mark Frank about his journey from perceptive bar bouncer to an internationally recognized expert on nonverbal communication who has worked with the FBI and CIA.

Most Americans take free speech for granted. In her new book, “Actual Malice: Civil Rights and Freedom of the Press in New York Times v. Sullivan,” legal historian Samantha Barbas illustrates precisely why we shouldn’t. In this episode of Driven to Discover, host Laura Silverman talks to Barbas, a professor of law at the University at Buffalo and an expert in the intersections of law, culture and the media, about the landmark 1964 case that liberated the press and transformed free speech in America. Barbas paints a compelling portrait of how dire things had become for journalists (and, relatedly, the Civil Rights Movement) before Sullivan, and predicts a similarly dire future for the media and even for everyday citizens speaking their minds on social media if the decision were ever to be reversed—a not inconceivable outcome with our current Supreme Court. Credits: Host: Laura Silverman Guest: Samantha Barbas Writer: Laura Silverman Production and editing by UB Video Production Group Coming on Jan 30: Host Tom Dinki speaks with communication professor Mark Frank about his journey from perceptive bar bouncer to an internationally recognized expert on nonverbal communication who has worked with the FBI and CIA.

Effective, long-lasting, non-addictive pain relief—it sounds too good to be true. But thanks to the imagination (and perseverance) of University at Buffalo neuroscientist/pharmacologist Arin Bhattacharjee, it may be just around the corner. Bhattacharjee, a self-proclaimed “dreamer,” has developed a novel approach to pain, both acute and chronic, that could get FDA approval in as soon as two years. In this episode of Driven to Discover, host Ellen Goldbaum talks to Bhattacharjee about his journey from wannabe soccer pro to impassioned scientist, the research that led to a new understanding of pain, and the small yet powerful peptide that could not only transform millions of lives but also help lead us out of the opioid epidemic. Credits:  Host: Ellen Goldbaum Guest: Arin Bhattacharjee Writer: Laura Silverman Production and editing by UB Video Production Group Coming on Jan 30: Host Tom Dinki speaks with communication professor Mark Frank about his journey from perceptive bar bouncer to an internationally recognized expert on nonverbal communication who has worked with the FBI and CIA.

As a young boy, LaGarrett King loved history, but he couldn’t figure out where he fit in the narrative he was being taught at school, nor how enslaved people could possibly have been as content as his teachers portrayed. Now a renowned authority on the teaching of Black history, King directs UB’s Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education, a thriving hub of research, professional development, networking and advocacy. In this episode of Driven to Discover, King talks to host Vicky Santos about the real meaning of “history” (it’s not what most people think), why it’s important that every student learn Black history, and the innovative ways his center is advancing Black history education around the world.  Credits:  Host: Vicky Santos Guest: LaGarrett King Writer: Laura Silverman Production and editing by UB Video Production GroupComing on Jan 30: Host Tom Dinki speaks with communication professor Mark Frank about his journey from perceptive bar bouncer to an internationally recognized expert on nonverbal communication who has worked with the FBI and CIA.

Diana Aga decided to become an environmental chemist after witnessing the dire effects of industrialization and population growth on the idyllic village where she grew up. Today, she is a worldwide authority on everything from industrial pollution and wastewater treatment to PFAS chemicals—the subject of this episode. Aga, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Henry M. Woodburn Professor of Chemistry and director of the RENEW Institute at UB, explains to host Cory Nealon why PFAS are known as “forever chemicals,” where they exist in the environment (basically everywhere), what harm they cause (a lot), and the various ways in which she and her collaborators are working to find and destroy them. Spoiler alert: She’s optimistic.  Credits: Host: Cory NealonGuest: Diana AgaWriter: Laura SilvermanProduction and editing by UB Video Production Group Coming on Jan 30: Host Tom Dinki speaks with communication professor Mark Frank about his journey from perceptive bar bouncer to an internationally recognized expert on nonverbal communication who has worked with the FBI and CIA.

Nicholas Rajkovich, associate professor of architecture and director of the Resilient Buildings Lab at UB, studies how we can adapt our built environment to withstand extreme weather and other impacts of a changing climate. In this episode, Rajkovich tells host David Hill about his early passion for building (resulting, among other things, in the construction of a wastewater plant in his parents’ basement); how people can make their cities more resilient in an increasingly hostile climate; what’s in store for Western New York specifically, and whether we're ready for it  (the Christmas blizzard provides a clue); and how Rajkovich and his students are working with the community to better prepare us for such events in the future.Credits: Host: David HillGuest: Nicholas RakjovichWriter: Laura SilvermanProduction and editing by UB Video Production GroupComing on Jan 30: Host Tom Dinki speaks with communication professor Mark Frank about his journey from perceptive bar bouncer to an internationally recognized expert on nonverbal communication who has worked with the FBI and CIA.

Stephanie Poindexter, a biological anthropologist in UB's College of Arts and Sciences, specializes in how primates utilize and navigate their habitats. For the past 10 years, she has focused her research on the slow loris, an adorable yet venomous primate that inhabits Southeast Asia and surrounding areas. In this episode, Poindexter tells host Vicky Santos how she first became interested in primates (it helps to grow up near a zoo), how to track down a slow loris in a Thai forest in the middle of the night, and why we need to understand this little-known creature better if we wish to fully understand ourselves. Credits: Host: Vicky SantosGuest: Stephanie PoindexterWriter: Laura SilvermanProduction and editing by UB Video Production Group Coming on Jan 30: Host Tom Dinki speaks with communication professor Mark Frank about his journey from perceptive bar bouncer to an internationally recognized expert on nonverbal communication who has worked with the FBI and CIA.

John Crassidis, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Moog Professor of Innovation at UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, works with NASA, the U.S. Air Force and other agencies to monitor space debris, also known as space junk.  In this episode, Cory Nealon talks to Crassidis about his journey from aspiring astronaut to academia, why space junk poses a threat to the future of satellites and space missions, and how he’s applying a $5 million grant from the Air Force—with the help of institutional partners and his students at UB—to help solve the problem.  Credits: Host: Cory NealonGuest: John CrassidisWriter: Laura SilvermanProduction and editing by UB Video Production GroupComing on Jan 30: Host Tom Dinki speaks with communication professor Mark Frank about his journey from perceptive bar bouncer to an internationally recognized expert on nonverbal communication who has worked with the FBI and CIA.