Atomic Interviews Luke Tower

I’m very excited about my guest, Dr. Stuart Bartlett. He has studied in institutions all over the world, including CalTech, University of South Hampton, Tokyo Institute of Technology, University of Bath, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He got his start studying physics but then transitioned to studying the origin of life by way of his interest in understanding complex systems. With such a diverse education and background, it was easy to be enthralled. I hope you enjoy this fascinating conversation as much as I did.

My guest today is Dr. Michael Wong. Michael studied at UC Berkeley, CalTech, and the University of Washington. He is a planetary scientist and an Astrobiologist and is currently a postdoc at the University of Washington. He runs a Star Trek-themed podcast called Strange New Worlds where he talks about the Star Trek universe and how it relates to science, technology, and culture. He also is helping write an astrobiology textbook for college students.

Allow me to introduce my guest, Brynn MacCoy. She has received a Bachelor of Science in physics and a Bachelor of Arts in photography from the University of Washington, where she is currently working on her Ph.D. in physics. She is a member of the precision muon physics group at the University of Washington, working on the Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory. She has numerous awards including the Mary Gates Research Endowment and the Mary L Boas departmental award for women in physics. I hope you enjoy this fascinating conversation as much as I did.

I’m excited to interview my guest today, Jason English. Jason graduated from Calvin University with a Bachelor of Science degree. On a more personal note, he also graduated from the high school that I currently attend. He has been a high school teacher for many years and is now the chairman of the Science Department at New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL. He has done work educating new science teachers through Fermilab, America's premier particle accelerator lab located outside of Chicago. He’s also collaborated with Motorola to allow his students to do some exciting real-world physics and engineering projects.

I’m excited to introduce my guest, Dr. Leslie Dewan. Leslie graduated from MIT with a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering. She was the co-founder of Transatomic Power, a company that worked on designing molten salt reactors which would have many benefits over current nuclear reactors. She has received numerous awards including Forbe’s 30 under 30 awards, Time Magazine’s 35 innovators under 35, as well as serving on the board of MIT. Currently, she works at Criticality Capital, a venture capital fund that invests in carbon-free energy sources and sustainable building and infrastructure. 

On a more personal note, Leslie’s undergraduate project at MIT, a cyclotron or a small particle accelerator, had an impact on my growing fascination with both Physics and Engineering. 

I found both my guest and our conversation particularly fascinating, so I’m very excited to share it!

My first guest, Kelly McElroy, is a Senior Nuclear Engineer at the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant in Berrien County, Michigan. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Michigan State University. She also has a passion for sustainability and the environment, which lead her to create her own podcast, SustainabiliME, which I highly recommend. In late-2020, Kelly was awarded the first Future Sustainable Business Hall of Fame Award from the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum for her work on her podcast. We discuss many things revolving around clean energy, sustainability, nuclear power, and her path to becoming a nuclear engineer.