#024: The Surfing Scientist - Dr. Ty Roach
Biosphere 2 Podcast
In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Ty Roach. Ty is a molecular biologist, freelance scientist, and a decorated competitive surfer and wrestler. Ty is a former Postdoctoral Researcher at Biosphere 2, where he split time between the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and living on site at Biosphere 2. He has done extensive research in the Biosphere 2 Ocean system, logging over 100 hours underwater. Today, Ty is making his way through academia as a freelance scientist with research focused on microbial and viral ecology, coral reef science, and theoretical biophysics. He is currently an...
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#023: The Biosphere 2 Lung - Bill Dempster
Biosphere 2 Podcast
Today we are joined by Bill Dempster. From 1985 to 1994, Bill Dempster served as the Director of Systems Engineering and chief engineer for Space Biospheres Ventures, the company responsible for designing and building Biosphere 2. As Systems Engineer, Bill was responsible for managing the integrity of Biosphere 2’s atmospheric seal. This role included leading the design and development of the Biosphere 2 Lung and leading a crucial leak testing campaign required for sealing the structure. After his time at Biosphere 2, Bill went on to serve as the President of the Institute of...
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#022: Space Analog for the Moon and Mars - Kai Staats
Biosphere 2 Podcast
In this episode we are joined by Kai Staats. Kai is a veteran developer, designer, filmmaker, and scientist. Kai is the Director of SAM, , here at Biosphere 2. SAM is a hi-fidelity, hermetically sealed Mars habitat analog with greenhouse, living quarters, airlock, pressure suits, and a half acre Mars yard. Since 2021 Kai and his team have been constructing SAM, and just last month, SAM hosted it’s first two sealed missions, Inclusion 1 and Inclusion 2. Prior to SAM, Kai was co-founder and CEO of the world-renowned Yellow Dog Linux operating system for ten years. The YDL platform was...
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#021: Microbial Ecology - Dr. Steve Allison
Biosphere 2 Podcast
In this episode we are joined by microbial ecologist and climate scientist, Dr. Steve Allison. Dr. Allison is a Professor of Ecology in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of California Irvine. His research addresses the resilience of microbial communities to drought and climate change in southern California ecosystems.
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#020: Clamsplaining: Giant Clams - Dr. Dan Killam
Biosphere 2 Podcast
In this episode, Dan takes us deep into world of Giant Clam research-- revealing a wide array of fascinating facts about these overshadowed bivalves found within Coral Reefs. Further, Dan tells us why the Biosphere 2 Ocean is a great place to study clams, he explains his past research studying Clams in the Red Sea, and he guides us through the life history and symbiosis of Giant Clams.
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#019: Coral Reefs Through Time - Dr. Stuart Sandin
Biosphere 2 Podcast
In this episode, Stuart and I discuss what Caribbean reefs used to look like and why they've changed. Further, we explore how Stuarts Lab is using structure from motion technology to map out reefs systems over time. We broach the topics of self organization, resilience, evolutionary succession, and technology driven ecological research.
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#018: Searching for Asteroid Threats and Space Junk - Dr. Vishnu Reddy
Biosphere 2 Podcast
In this episode, Dr. Reddy shares his amazing and unorthodox journey of becoming a planetary scientist. We discuss in-depth the threats that near earth objects like asteroids and comets pose to our society, and revisit catastrophic and regional impact events from the past. Dr. Reddy discusses his current research and the changes in congressional support for asteroid research in more recent years. Vishnu's passion for planetary science and teaching is palpable, and I hope you enjoy this episode.
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#017: Chasing Ice, Coral, and the Social Dilemma - Director Jeff Orlowski
Biosphere 2 Podcast
Jeff Orlowski is the director, producer, and cinematographer of the award-winning films Chasing Coral and Chasing Ice.Jeff founded Exposure Labs, a production company dedicated to impact through film. His latest film, The Social Dilemma, had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. In this episode, Jeff takes us through his rich journey as a filmmaker, negotiator, and a change-maker.
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#016: The Aquarium of the World: Sea of Cortez - Rick Brusca
Biosphere 2 Podcast
In this episode we are joined by marine biologist and invertebrate zoologist Rick Brusca. Starting with the famed travels of Ed Ricketts and John Steinbeck on the Western Flyer, our conversation ranges from the the Gulf of California's geologic formation and biodiversity, to its conservation challenges and weirdest creatures. Additionally Rick gazes inwardly as an author and invertebrate zoologist and describes highlights from his own career and how the field is changing.
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#015: OSIRIS REx Mission - Heather Enos
Biosphere 2 Podcast
In this discussion Heather speaks to some of the OSIRIS REx missions greatest challenges and how her team adapted and responded on the fly. Heather talks about why her science team is interested in Bennu and we get first hand insight into what it takes to lead large interdisciplinary teams on NASA Missions.
info_outlineIn this episode we are joined by Oceanographer and Geoscientist, Dr. Joellen Russell. Joellen is Professor and the Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Chair of Integrative Science at the University of Arizona Department of Geosciences. Joellen is the lead for the modeling team of the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling project (SOCCOM), a multi institutional program based at Princeton focused on unlocking the mysteries of the Southern Ocean. She serves as the Co-chair of the Science Advisory Board’s Climate Working Group at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA.
Before joining the University of Arizona, Dr. Russell was a Research Scientist at Princeton University and NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (NOAA/GFDL). She received her A.B. in Environmental Geoscience from Harvard and her PhD in Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego.
Prof. Russell is one of the 14 scientists behind an amicus curiae brief supporting the plaintiff in the historic 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision on carbon dioxide emissions and climate change, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Joellen's research uses global climate and earth system models to simulate the climate and carbon cycle of the past, the present and the future, often utilizing satellite data, floating robotic ocean sensors known as Argo floats, and cutting edge supercomputers. Her work on the westerly winds led to the creation of a new paradigm in climate science, namely that warmer climates produce stronger westerly winds. This insight solved one of the long-standing climate paradoxes, the mechanism responsible for transferring one-third of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into the ocean and then back out again during our repeated glacial-interglacial cycles.
FV3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrGrbiHBmWg&t=9s
Robot Floats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AVOr-wPdqs
SOCCOM: https://soccom.princeton.edu/
Joellen Russell Presentation: Climate and the Deep Blue Sea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7aykuhkj90