ETH Podcast episode 10 to 19
ETH computer scientists Julia Vogt and Fanny Yang work in the field of Machine Learning and Medicine. While Fanny builds models, Julia applies the theories in different projects collaborating with hospitals. In the ETH-Podcast, both researchers talk about what drew them to their field, and why machines will never replace human beings in the medical field.
Climate change hasn’t been hitting the headlines quite as much in recent months – but that’s not because the situation has improved. ETH Zurich researchers Lynn Kaack and David Dao spoke to the ETH Podcast back in March about how we can use Artificial Intelligence to help in the fight against climate change. This episode of the ETH podcast is about Kaack’s and Dao’s work on the energy transition and forests, their work with the organisation Climate Change AI, and their take on research, activism and policy. We pushed back the podcast that had been produced before the lockdown due to our special series on COVID-19 and have now supplemented it with current statements from the two researchers. Because we wanted to know what had changed for them.
Samuel Kunz has been a quadriplegic since a swimming accident. Right now he’s preparing to take part in the CYBATHLON 2020. With the support of neuroscientist Rea Lehner and a team from ETH Zurich, Samuel Kunz is training his brain to navigate a car through a computer racecourse via a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). The ETH podcast follows him through a test run and Samuel talks about what it takes to prepare for the CYBATHLON. In this unique championship, people with physical disabilities compete against each other to complete everyday tasks using state-of-the-art technical assistance systems.
He built one of the largest modular synthesizers in the world: Joe Paradiso is Professor at the MIT Media Lab in Media Arts and Sciences, and he also plays an important role in the international scene of electronic music. Much of what Joe does today started in the 1980ies as a postdoc in the department of physics at ETH Zurich. While he was researching in Zurich in the daytime, he created sounds and started to build a synthesizer (the Paradiso Synth.) at night. One of his favourite places to record audio material was the parking garage at the ETH Campus Hönggerberg. In our Podcast, he explains how his fascination for that obscure place grew, and why it is essential for scientists like him to think out of the box. We will also be listening to audio material, and stream sounds from Joe’s massive synthesizer that is sitting in his basement in Massachusetts.
Renana and Roi Poranne are both senior scientists at ETH Zurich: Renana in Chemistry, Roi, in Computer Sciences. But they are not only committed researchers, they are also parents to two little children. In this episode Roi and Renana talk about how they manage life between research and family. They tell us their secrets of how to bring everything under one roof and give advice to young researchers thinking about starting a family.
As of this semester, it is possible to do a master’s degree in Quantum Engineering at ETH Zürich. What actually is Quantum Engineering? Who is studying this new subject? In this episode of the ETH Podcast we accompany a student, talk to a professor about the curricula and also ask people from the industry what their hopes are in the graduating class in Quantum Engineering from ETH Zürich.
Nicola Spaldin, Professor of Materials Theory at ETH Zürich, is one of the leading researchers in her field. She was awarded with some of the most prestigious prizes for her pioneering work in the area of multiferroics. Multiferroics are materials that are both ferromagnetic and ferroelectric. Nicola Spaldin aims to make computers energy efficient. In this episode of the ETH-Podcast we talk to her about her sparking energy and motivation to teach and research and listen to her play the clarinet with her chamber music ensemble.
“How Talent Thrives” is a subject that university, as well as industry, is interested in. The Times Higher Education (THE) summit will bring leaders from around the world to ETH Zurich to explore the topics regarding talent. In the ETH Podcast, Rector Sarah Springman and Professor Manu Kapur are going to talk about how they seek for talented people and how talents, learning skills, and knowledge can merge.
The pace of technological progress is rapid. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning make us look at human intelligence in a new light. In the podcast, we talk to the ETH professors Benjamin Grewe, Simone Schürle, and Thomas Hofmann about the advantages and the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. We also take a glimpse into the future and talk about new technologies such as little implants to enhance human brains. How much has fiction already become a reality?
What do grasshoppers, crickets and mealworms taste like? While some people can’t overcome their disgust, others enjoy eating these crawly creatures fried or as a chunky burger. In the ETH Podcast, we talk to ETH experts Christina Hartman and professor Alexander Mathys about whether one can overcome disgust and what the benefits are - for people and the environment - if more insects instead of meat end up on our plates.