Archive 2008
Click on the show title below to access the show archive stored on the Georgia Tech SMARTECH system.
| Wednesday December 31st noon-1pm |
Year in Review Pete and Bill will review our first year after moving the show to WREK radio and take any and all questions from our listeners |
| Wednesday December 24th noon-1pm |
Black Box Classic Rewind Pete and Bill are both doing holiday stuff this week and we’re not important enough to have local radio personalities want to fill in for us. |
| Wednesday December 17th noon-1pm |
Black Box Classic Rewind Pete and Bill are both out of town this week and we’re not important enough to have local radio personalities want to fill in for us. |
| Wednesday December 10th noon-1pm |
High Tech Babies Mark Perloe, Medical Director at Georgia Reproductive Specialists will discuss the latest technological developments in reproductive medicine and infertility treatment. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday December 3rd noon-1pm |
Following the Sweat Haskell Beckham from the Georgia Tech School of Polymer and Textile Fiber Engineering will discuss the basics of, and some interesting applications for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Specifically he will talk about some recent applications to determine how modern athletic clothing wicks persperation away from your skin. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday November26th noon-1pm |
What’s In the Water Larry Bottomley, from the Georgia Tech School of Chemistry and Biochemistry will discuss the basics of the analytical chemistry you might watch on TV shows like CSI. He will illustrate these techniques by talking about looking for impurities in your drinking water. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday November19th noon-1pm |
Libraries in the 21st Century: No Longer Moss Covered Our Guest Charlie Bennett of the Georgia Tech Main Library will talk about the changing face of libraries. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday November12th noon-1pm |
The Science of Music Our own co-host Bill Hunt will discuss musical acoustics. Bill actually teaches a class on this at Georgia Tech. We will be joined by Paul Neitzel of the School of Mechanical Engineering who is interested in the application of this field to guitars.This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday November 5th noon-1pm |
UNIT UNITS EVERYWHERE Pete and Bill with discuss everyone’s favorite part of science and technology – UNITS. The units used for measured quantities are extremely important but often misunderstood. Call us with your questions or comments about this really cool topic. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday October 29th noon-1pm |
WOMEN IN ENGINEERING II Wendy Cocke, president of the Atlanta Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers will join us to discuss some recent studies that update the status of women in engineering. Two of Pete’s students, Sarah Begley and Ashley Newton will be joining us to give the Georgia Tech Student perspective.This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday October 22nd noon-1pm |
SCIENCE & YOUR MONEY Willie Belton, from the Georgia Tech School of Economics will talk about the basics behind this field and use it to explain what is happening with the current economic crisis. If you are as confused about this as Bill and Pete call in with your questions during the second half of the hour. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday October 15th noon-1pm |
CLASSIC REWIND Pete and Bill are both out of town so we will be playing a classic rewind of Inside the Black Box |
| Wednesday October 8th noon-1pm |
Voting: Is High Tech Always Best Voter activist Bernie Ellis will join us to discuss efforts to educate citizens and leaders to the threats of nonverifiable voting systems and other practices which work to disenfranchise voters and discourage participation in the election process. While trained as a public health epidemiologist who has done important work on intervention programs to reduce cancer, substance abuse and AIDS, his voting activism proves that us geeks can do more than one thing at a time |
| Wednesday October 1st noon-1pm |
Large Hadron Colliders: What’s All the Fuss About Physicist Eric Prebys, Program Leader at the Fermi National Accelerator Lab will talk about colliding Hadrons and why us geeks are excited about this topic. The Fermi Lab accelerator is currently the highest energy collider on the planet, but the CERN collider is now coming on line. In addition to high energy physics, Eric will talk about his favorite hobby Perpetual Motion Machines. |
| Wednesday September 24th noon-1pm |
High Tech Weather Bruce Rose, Vice President of Weather Systems from the Weather Channel will talk to us about modern weather monitoring and prediction and how this information flys all over the World and ends up on your TV, computer and smart phone. Don’t let the V.P. title fool you. Bruce has a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Scienced from Pete and Bill’s alma mater the University of Illinois. Bruce is also an experienced computer geek and we hope to get the high tech perspective that you just can’t get from the on-air talent. |
| Wednesday September 17th noon-1pm |
Medical Imaging: Way Beyond X-Ray Specs Join our guest Allen Tannenbaum from the Georgia Tech School of Electrical & Computer Engineering in discussing how large amounts of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and ultrasound data are manipulated to produce important diagnoses. Specifically he will talk about the virtual colon fly-through and how it compares to the latest rides at Six Flags over Georgia. |
| Wednesday September 10th noon-1pm |
The Goo in your Shampoo Victor Breedveld from the Georgia Tech School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering will discuss the fluid mechanics of complex fluids (rheology). He will illustrate the unique behavior of these materials by discussing all the thickeners (viscosity modifiers) you see in consumer products from shampoo to paint. These strange chemicals on your consumer product labels are the things that keep Bill up and night, and if you have similar nightmares be sure to join us. CLICK HERE for a cool video of walking across a pool filled with a shear thickening fluid (cornstarch in water).This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday September 3rd noon-1pm |
The Politics of Science We were hoping to get some weather geeks from the Weather Channel on the show, but they are busy tracking hurricanes this week. So instead we discussed the major parties platforms and what they say about science and took listener calls. |
| Wednesday August 27th noon-1pm |
The Gorey Details of Technical Innovation The unique management style of W.L. Gore and Associates was recently featured in Malcolm Gladwell’s best-selling book “The Tipping Pointâ€. Gladwell points out that Gore limits the size of their facilities to improve connections between employees. This, along with an egalitarian management structure is used to improve technical innovation in the application of fluorinated polymers. Gordon McGregor, Leader of New Business Development for the Industrial Products Division at W.L. Gore and Associates will use a product development example to illustrate the effect of such management structure on technical innovation. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday August 20th noon-1pm |
Welcome Back Bill In addition discussing what Bill did on his summer vacation we will be taking calls from our loyal listeners on any topic in science and technology. |
| Wednesday August 13th noon-1pm |
The Patent Game Intellectual property law is important to technical innovation. Andrew Torrencefrom the University of Kansas School of Law, will discuss patent law and technical innovation. He will also discuss some results from the Patent Game, the patent simulator he has developed and what it tells us about the relationship between patents and innovation. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday August 6th noon-1pm |
NERD GIRLS We will chat with Karen Panetta of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Tufts University about the Nerd Girls Project. She is joined by Allison Bedwinek, a Nerd Girl and mechanical engineer who now designs medical devices. Recently featured on the NBC Today Show and MSNBC and in Newsweek this project attempts to break the stigmas and stereotypes of women in technical fields. Nerd Girls started in 2000 with Dr. Panetta’s efforts to empower female engineering students working in male-dominated technical fields.This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday July 30th noon-1pm |
Potpourri Due to scheduling issues with our guest for the show on patent law and technical innovation we had no guest today. Instead we answered general questions from callers and discussed green energy. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday July 23rd noon-1pm |
Science and Cooking We will discuss science and its relevance to cooking. Give us a call with questions or comments about your scientific adventures in the kitchen. For more details see “What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained,” by Robert Wolke and “What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures In Kitchen Science,” by Robert Wolke and Marlene Parrish. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday July 16th noon-1pm |
Science and the Movies Just for fun, Pete will discuss science and its depiction in the movies. See some reviews of science in the movies by Charlie Anders, Phil Plait or see theInsultingly Stupid Movie Physics book and website by Tom Rogers. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday July 9th noon-1pm |
Engineers – What Do They Do? Pete & Bill will discuss a recently released report from the National Academy of Engineering on the Public Understanding of Engineering. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday June 4th noon-1pm |
CLASSIC REWIND Pete & Bill were out of town this week so we replayed our show on polymers that originally aired on April 13th, 2008. |
| Wednesday June 25th noon-1pm |
Don’t know much about Algebra Dr. Alvin Thaler, program director at the National Science Foundation will address the importance of math. |
| Wednesday June 18th noon-1pm |
Computers – Not Just for Geeks Anymore Joel Linderman Georgia Tech’s favorite computer geek and the director of Georgia Tech Multimedia Center will discuss the more creative uses of computers that can help enhance the educational experience. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday June 11th noon-1pm |
Sex & the Sea Julia Kubanek from the Georgia Tech School of Biology and Chemistry and Biochemistry will discuss the limited role of males in reproductive cycles for various marine microorganisms called rotifers. OK, it is not quite as exciting as the adventures of Kerry Bradshaw and friends, but it is fascinating science. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday June 4th noon-1pm |
NO SHOW Pete & Bill were out of town this week. |
| Wednesday May 28th noon-1pm |
Control Freaks of Science & Engineering Almost everything from complicated industrial processes to the simplest tasks carried out by your household appliances is manipulated to modern control schemes. Prof. Martha Gallivan of the Georgia Tech School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering will join us to talk about the important and often overlooked field of process control.This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Wednesday May 21st noon-1pm |
NO SHOW This weeks show is bumped due to the ACC baseball tournament. |
| Wednesday May 14th noon-1pm |
The Scientific Method Pete and Bill discuss the basics of the scientific method as well as its application to everyday life. This is a pre-taped show |
| Wednesday May 7th noon-1pm |
Ripping Off Mother Nature Over the years, scientists and engineers have discovered the utility of many of the design principals that occur in nature. Marc Weissburg, co-director of the Center for Biologically Inspired Design will illustrate how scientists and engineers are turning to Mother Nature for new ideas. |
| Wednesday April 30th noon-1pm |
Luring Undergraduates into Research Prof. James Gole from the School of Physics at Georgia Tech will be discussing the importance of undergraduate research. James won the 2008 Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award at Georgia Tech and has been doing research with undergraduates for 30 years. His current research focuses on the interfaces at the nanometer scale and increasing the sensitivity of devices. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Sunday April 27th noon-1pm |
NO SHOW We are in the process of switching times, so stay tuned for INSIDE THE BLACK BOX on Wednesdays at noon |
| Sunday April 20th noon-1pm |
NO SHOW We were yet again bumped by Georgia Tech Baseball that was rained out on Saturday. This was the 2nd time our guest Allen Tannenbaum was bumped and we hope to have him on the program again once he is speaking with us again. Pete lost it and this is why we are now switching to Wednesdays at noon. |
| Sunday April 13th noon-1pm |
One Word – Plastics This single line from the movie “The Graduate” underscores the importance of polymeric materials in our everyday lives. Pete and Bill will discuss the properties that make polymer materials useful in many applications. This will be a live show so call us at (404) 894-2468 with your questions and comments. |
| Sunday April 6th noon-1pm |
NO SHOW We were bumped by a replay of a double header of Georgia Tech Baseball that was rained out on Saturday. The irony of this clear example of prioritizing collegiate sports over collegiate education was not lost on us and may be the subject of a future show. |
| Sunday March 30th noon-1pm |
Science Education from the Trenches We talk with the top finishers of the recent science fair at North Springs High School, a Charter School in both Arts and Sciences to determine how best to reach young people in science and technology. Our guests are Sean McGee, Stoyan Ivanov, and Phil Winsor from North Springs High School. |
| Sunday March 23rd noon-1pm |
Ripping Off Mother Nature Over the years, scientists and engineers have discovered the utility of many of the design principals that occur in nature. Marc Weissburg, co-director of the Center for Biologically Inspired Design will illustrate how scientists and engineers are turning to Mother Nature for new ideas. THIS SHOW WAS NOT ACTUALLY AIRED DUE TO A PROGRAMMING ERROR – IT WILL BE AIRED AT A LATER DATE |
| Sunday March 16th noon-1pm |
Chemistry and why we hate it We chat with Loren Williams of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty at Georgia Tech about why only geeks like us appear to find chemistry engaging andhow we might improve the way we teach chemistry. |
| Sunday March 9th noon-1pm |
The Birds & the Bees, without the Birds Professor Michael Goodisman from the Georgia Tech School of Biology will discuss the social nature of Bees and other social insects. |
| Sunday March 2nd noon-1pm |
Einstein’s Hair – Big Bangs or Supernova Professor Andy Zangwill from the Georgia Tech School of Physics, a science history enthusiast joins us to talk about Albert Einstein, the man, the hair and the science. We will discuss the unusual celebrity of this noted scientist and debunk some common misconceptions. |