Curiosity Unplugged

Illinois Tech is on the cusp of launching the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship, an entire building dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship that promises to be a hub for discovery and business creation, giving students the skills and experience needed to make their innovations viable for the market. How will we support our students and faculty and cultivate a culture of innovation?  Joining Curiosity Unplugged today is Anijo Mathew, the Kaplan Institute’s first academic director and associate professor at the Institute of Design, and Professor of Biology and Biomedical Engineering Joseph Orgel, who is associate director of Illinois Tech's BioCAT facility at Argonne National Laboratory. 

A new Atlantic hurricane season will soon be underway and islands such as Puerto Rico are still recovering from a devastating 2017 year in weather. Western universities and humanitarian-aid organizations have traditionally lent expertise and provided funding to storm-battered nations as well as to developing countries that could benefit from socioeconomic development, energy overhauls, or sustainable enterprise. How can we help the world advance without imposing a sense of neo-colonialism? Joining today's podcast are Weslynne Ashton, associate professor of environmental management and sustainability at Illinois Tech’s Stuart School of Business, and  Frank Flury, associate professor at the College of Architecture and director of the Bachelor of Architecture Program.

Is the “anti-science movement” gaining ground in America? Thousands of science defenders gathered in more than 175 cities throughout the country and the world, including here in Chicago, on April 14 for March for Science events. The marches were held in response to President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to national science organizations and research. In late March, however, Trump surprised many by reversing his administration’s earlier plans, signing into law a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill that will benefit federal science agencies through the end of September. Joining today’s podcast are Jeff Terry, professor of physics at Illinois Tech’s College of Science, and J. D. Trout, the Mae and John Calamos Professor of Philosophy in Illinois Tech’s Lewis College of Human Sciences.