The Future And You
Ideas and opinion about the future based on verifiable facts of today.
 

 

Les Johnson (NASA physicist and manager) and Dr. Gregory L. Matloff (professor of astronomy) are today's featured guests.

Topic: (Second of two parts.) Paradise Regained: the Regreening of Earth. Why the only way the ultimate goals of environmentalism can be achieved is if we stop using the earth as the source for our civilization's ever-growing need for resources, and instead tap into the much greater natural resources which surround the earth, in space.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 29, 2010 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 30 minutes] This was recorded in front of a live audience on July 10, 2010 at LibertyCon in Chattanooga.

Les Johnson is Deputy Manager for the Advanced Concepts Office at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. In his spare time he writes popular science books and articles. He was the technical consultant for the movie Lost in Space.

Dr. Gregory L. Matloff is assistant professor of physics at New York City College of Technology. He has consulted for the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, is a Fellow of the British interplanetary Society, is a Hayden Associate at the American Museum of Natural History, and is a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics. His pioneering research in solar-sail technology has been utilized by NASA in plans for extra-solar probes and in consideration of technologies to divert Earth-threatening asteroids. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 research papers and eight books, which have been cited about 400 times. One of his books, The Starflight Handbook (Wiley, 1989), was co-authored with MIT science-writer Dr. Eugene Mallove and helped establish interstellar-propulsion studies as a sub-division of applied physics.

In addition to being scientists, public speakers, and friends, Les and Greg have collaborated on a number of popular books. They joined forces with C Bangs for Living Off the Land in Space (2007), as well as for their latest book Paradise Regained: The Regreening of Earth (2009). With Giovanni Vulpetti they wrote Solar Sails: A Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel (2008).

 

Direct download: TFAY_2010_9_29.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:00am EDT

Les Johnson (NASA physicist and manager) and Dr. Gregory L. Matloff (professor of astronomy) are today's featured guests.

Topic: Paradise Regained: the Regreening of Earth. Why the ultimate goals of environmentalism can only be achieved when we stop using the earth to supply our civilization's ever-growing need for resources, and instead tap into the far more abundant natural resources which surround the earth--in space. (First of two parts.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 22, 2010 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 30 minutes] This was recorded in front of a live audience on July 10, 2010 at LibertyCon in Chattanooga.

Les Johnson is Deputy Manager for the Advanced Concepts Office at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. In his spare time he writes popular science books and articles. He was the technical consultant for the movie Lost in Space.

Dr. Gregory L. Matloff is assistant professor of physics at New York City College of Technology. He has consulted for the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, is a Fellow of the British interplanetary Society, is a Hayden Associate at the American Museum of Natural History, and is a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics. His pioneering research in solar-sail technology has been utilized by NASA in plans for extra-solar probes and in consideration of technologies to divert Earth-threatening asteroids. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 research papers and eight books, which have been cited about 400 times. One of his books, The Starflight Handbook (Wiley, 1989), was co-authored with MIT science-writer Dr. Eugene Mallove and helped establish interstellar-propulsion studies as a sub-division of applied physics.

In addition to being scientists, public speakers, and friends, Les and Greg have collaborated on a number of popular books. They joined forces with C Bangs for Living Off the Land in Space (2007), as well as for their latest book Paradise Regained: The Regreening of Earth (2009). With Giovanni Vulpetti they wrote Solar Sails: A Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel (2008).

Direct download: TFAY_2010_9_22.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Clyde Ward (a mechanical engineer specializing in robotics) is today's featured guest.

Topics: robots he has worked on for nuclear facilities, his successes in the televised BattleBots competitions, early industrial robots and why they seem crude by today's standards, and behind the scenes anecdotes from his recent involvement in teaching robotics to young robotic enthusiasts.

Clyde Ward received his degree in mechanical engineering from Tufts University. He was with the Robotics Group at the Savannah River National Laboratory for 19 years, until he retired in 2005. On the Battlebots TV show, televised on Comedy Central, he was the lead engineer for the robot named Jabberwock. During 2002 Jabberwock reached a ranking of #17 in the World Heavy Weight Division. For the last eight years Clyde has been a mentor with the Aiken County Robotics Club.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 15, 2010 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 33 minutes]

This interview was recorded on July 17, 2010 at the University of South Carolina at the B.I.T. (Business, Innovation and Technology) Expo. The Aiken County Robotics Club was prominently featured at the Expo, were they provided demonstrations of many of the robots they had built, including the one that won them the world championship title.

Direct download: TFAY_2010_9_15.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:00am EDT

Kelly Russell and Jim Lee (two leaders of The Aiken Robotics Club) are today's featured guests.

Topics: How the Aiken Robotics Club became world champions; how robotics proved therapeutic for one 14 year-old student in a wheel chair; and an eyewitness account of what it was like for the teens to compete In front of an audience of tens of thousands in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in April of 2010 when dozens of robot building clubs from high schools all across The United States and Canada brought their robots to the World Championship First Tech Challenge.

Kelly Russell is the head coach of the Aiken Robotics Club, and teaches mathematics at Aiken High. Jim Lee is a mechanical engineer, and for the last six years has been one of The Aiken Robotic Club's several mentors. The Aiken Robotics Club serves all of Aiken County South Carolina's High Schools.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 8, 2010 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 42 minutes]

This interview was recorded on July 17, 2010 at the University of South Carolina at the B.I.T. (Business, Innovation and Technology) Expo. The Aiken Robotics Club was prominently featured at the Expo, were they provided demonstrations of many of the robots they had built, including the one that won them the world championship title.

Direct download: TFAY_2010_9_8.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:00am EDT

 

Nine members of the Aiken Robotics Club (including some of the 2010 International FIRST Tech Competition winners) are today's featured guests.

Topics: How robot building, designing and international competitions motivate students to greater academic activity and encourages them to cooperative team building. Also how--by being a roll-up-your-sleeves and get-your-hands-dirty activity--it's not just for the bookish, but also for kids who enjoy power tools.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 1, 2010 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 40 minutes]

This interview was recorded on July 17, 2010 at the University of South Carolina at the B.I.T. (Business, Innovation and Technology) Expo. The Aiken Robotics Club was prominently featured at the Expo, were they provided demonstrations of many of the robots they had built, including the one that won them the world championship title.

 

Direct download: TFAY_2010_9_1.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:10am EDT