Science

University of Maryland theoretical physicist Sylvester “Jim” Gates was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Obama. Prof. Gates directs the University’s Center for String and Particle Theory; he was the first African-American to ever hold an endowed chair in physics at a major U.S. research university. He joins us to discuss his ideas about the universe, with Midday on Science contributor John Monahan. (Original Air Date: April 8th)

May 21, 2013

Books about learning from failure have been trendy the last couple years; Tavis Smiley published Fail Up, for example. And, there’s a new book for managers, The Wisdom of Failure.

Web Extra: Our conversation with Mario Livio about his book "Is God A Mathematician?"

Fossil-crazed science writer Brian Switek joins Midday contributor John Monahan to talk about his passion for excavating, and his most recent findings in the fields of paleontology and dinosaur science. Switek is the author of My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs. Also, a look at the impending arrival of the cicada.

May 6, 2013

Adam Riess, on how he knows where to look for supernovae.mp3

Adam Riess, on how supernovae are named.mp3

University of Maryland theoretical physicist Sylvester “Jim” Gates was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Obama. Prof. Gates directs the University’s Center for String and Particle Theory; he was the first African-American to ever hold an endowed chair in physics at a major U.S. research university. He joins us to discuss his ideas about the universe, with Midday on Science contributor John Monahan.   

Unmanned aerial vehicles are moving from military use into civilian hands. In fact, a law passed by Congress this year requires the FAA to open U.S. skies to widespread drone use by 2015. We look at how these robots could be used -- or abused. Our guests: ChrisAnderson, CEO of 3D Robotics, founder of DIY Drones, and former editor of Wired; Midday science contributor John Monahan; and JayStanley, senior policy analyst with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, and editor of the ACLU’s Free Future blog.  

Last month, a fireball exploded over Russia, destroying buildings and injuring more than 1,200 people, the result of a meteor hitting the Earth's atmosphere. The same day, an asteroid half the size of a football field came within 17,200 miles of the planet. So what's the risk of the human race going the way of the dinosaurs? What technology do we have in place to track giant space rocks?

March 6, 2013

Curious about Curiosity? We hear what the Mars rover has found, and how scientists discovered a former underground lake on the red planet.

Erskine Bowles,half the Simpson-Bowles deficit-cutting duo,says so far we’ve made the “easy, stupid” cuts.He explains what needs to be done.

We speaks with Poet Jehanne Dubrow, whose new book, "Red Army Red,” is based on her experience as a child of diplomats in Communist Eastern Europe.

February 13, 2013