Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast

Did you know that chocolate has a crystal structure? We all think of metals, ceramics, polymers, electronic materials, composites and so forth as materials. But what else? Is chocolate an engineering material? In this episode we dive into this amazing substance and describe the critical processing steps that makes it a unique including regional differences in cocoa, chocolate tempering and more. Along the way we'll cover the fundamental materials science topic of crystallization and solidification. Referenced Articles: Beckett's Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use, Fifth Edition [LINK] “Fat bloom in chocolate and compound coatings” by Lonchampt and Hartel [LINK]. Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik [LINK] Harvard University has an excellent YouTube series on cooking science [LINK] This episode is sponsored by Matmatch. Check out how they can help you find the perfect material for your next engineering project! Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: chocolate tempering processing phase crystal structures Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

Can you structure a company like a material? In this episode we cover the fascinating discovery of Gore-Tex, and the equally fascinating company that created it. First, we delve in the materials science that allows Gore-Tex to repel water, while remaining breathable. We then, discuss the unique, non-hierarchical structure of W.L. Gore and Associates that has allowed them to continuously innovate over the past 60 years. Referenced Articles: Innovation Democracy: W.L. Gore's Original Management Model, Scientists You Must Know: Robert Gore Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: deformation DIC digital image correlation strain correlated solutions Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

What role do materials play in artificial organs? Are there materials that body simply won't accept? In this episode we talk about the birth of artificial organs as we describe the history of hemodialysis which is critical for treating chronic kidney disease. We introduce materials science fundamentals associated with mass transport across semi-permeable membranes such as Ficks First Law. We then tell the story of Willem Kolff and others who pioneered the invention of hemodialysis and describe the role that materials played in that process then as well as now. Referenced Articles: Overview on membranes Bowry, S. K. "Dialysis membranes today." "Reverse epidemiology of cardiovascular risk factors in maintenance dialysis patients." Impact of protein energy wasting: Bonanni et al. 2011 Protein loss vs flux of treatment: Gil et al. 2007 Altering fluid transport to retain proteins: Meyer et al. 2004 Am. Soc. Neph. Personal account of doctor turned patient: Laird et al. 2011 Am J Kidney Dis. 2011 Protein replacement treatment effectiveness: Hynote et al. 1995 J Parenter Enteral Nutr. Membrane adsorption of proteins: Ishikawa et al. 2006 Am J Nephrol. Current PVC tubing used in dialyzers: Chawla et al. 1991 Image taken from Wikimedia Commons with filters applied in Adobe Illustrator. Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: polymers biomedical bio diffusion filter biocompatibility Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

In this episode we cover the history and development of crystallography, the study of the structures that make up the materials around us. The history of this field is filled with accidental discoveries, ingenious inventions, and drama between those who study it. One of the most important discoveries to come out of this field is x-ray diffraction. This important characterization technique allowed scientists to delve deeper into crystal structures than ever before. We discuss new advances in x-ray diffraction with Ben Frandsen, an assistant professor of physics at Brigham Young University. Ben utilizes x-ray and neutron diffraction techniques to study super conductors and magnets. We only scratch the surface of the fascinating history of crystallography in this episode. If you want to learn even more, check out Nature's Milestones in Crystallography. Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: XRD x-ray diffraction characterization structure crystallography Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

In this episode we talk about thermoelectrics, which are materials that can convert heat into electricity or vice versa. Since their inception almost 200 years ago there have been major advances in thermoelectric efficiency and they have found their way into some amazing applications such as NASA’s deep space probes or the Mars rover Curiosity. For the latter half of the 20th century, thermoelectric materials research was relatively stagnant with little improvement in materials. However, in the last two decades there has been a resurgence of interest in these materials and efficiencies have doubled. For this episode we talk about these recent advances with Paul Slusser who founded Power Practical, a company that commercialized a camping stove with a built-in thermoelectric generator. We describe some of the techniques that have been employed to create this efficiency gains and ask whether or not these materials are likely to make it out of the laboratory and into the market. Referenced Articles: Northwestern Thermoelectrics Research Group [LINK] New and Old Concepts in Thermoelectric Materials [LINK] The panoscopic approach to high performance thermoelectrics [LINK] Complex thermoelectric materials [LINK] Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: thermoelectric ceramics energy thermal heat Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

In this episode we learn about an unexpected approach to processing materials: the common kitchen microwave. While most people only think about the microwave when it’s time to reheat some leftovers, there has been a surprising scientific interest from materials researchers in the last few decades. In fact, microwave processing can achieve pretty remarkable feats such as extremely rapid sintering and heat treatment of materials as well as providing a means for microstructural control in alloys. There have even been cases where people have used it to weld and join materials together. In this episode we explain how microwave heating works in the first place, some of the past successes with this technique and we interview Dr. Christina Birkel who uses this as a critical component to her lab dedicated to the synthesis of novel new materials. Articles for further reading: “Microwave Processing of Materials and Applications in Manufacturing Industries: A Review” [LINK] “Non-conventional synthesis and magnetic properties of MAX phases (Cr/Mn)2AlC and (Cr/Fe)2AlC” [LINK] Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: microwave MAX phase processing synthesis Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

In this episode we sit down with Dr. Chett Boxley, the co-founder of Glycosurf LLC and Batch 21. Chett is a serial entrepreneur with a PhD in chemistry from the University of Utah and a long history of bringing products out of the laboratory and into the market. Chett describes the unique challenge of both developing a new materials-based product and also selling it and running a young startup. You can learn more about Batch 21 and their green skin care products by visiting batch-21.com. For those interested in learning more about startups, we recommend these books: “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries “Zero to One” by Peter Thiel. Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: polymers commercialization skincare market development Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism Find out more at https://materialism.pinecast.co

Welcome to the inaugural episode of the Materialism Podcast! In this episode we cover the most ubiquitous and important engineering material of all time: steel. The story of steel is fascinating and ties into the history of the Industrial Revolution, the birth of capitalism, and so much more. It would be hard to think of another material that did more to change society. Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show! If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter. Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks (co-host, co-creator), Andrew Falkowski (co-host, co-creator), Jared Duffy production, marketing, and editing), Ramsey Issa (editing assistance). Keywords: steel iron carbon metal history Support Materialism: A Materials Science Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/materialism

What is materials science? What is the Materialism Podcast? Find the answers to these questions and more in this trailer for what is to come! Each episode includes a brief general introduction to the topic so that any listener can understand the subject matter. We hope you’ll enjoy the podcast. Feel free to connect with us on instagram at @Materialism.podcast. You can also send us questions or suggested podcast topics at materialism.podcast@gmail.com.