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Engineering Out Loud

From the College of Engineering at Oregon State University, this is Engineering Out Loud—a podcast telling the stories of how our research and innovation here are helping change the world out there.
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Dec 21, 2023

Will swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles be able to aid humans in wildland firefighting or package delivery? Research summarized in a new paper in Field Robotics represents a big step towards realizing such a future. In this interview, Professor Julie A. Adams describes the research showing that one person can supervise more than 100 autonomous ground and aerial robots

Mar 28, 2023

The final episode of the season occupies a time of transition, as spinoff company Espiku ramps up. We get an update on two systems that received patents and a third that could provide an environmentally benign technology for extracting lithium. We also hear from four graduating students who reflect on their experiences.

Bonus content: 

Mar 22, 2023

The pandemic didn’t stop Bahman Abbasi’s desalination research. In this third episode, we learn about the successful lab-scale demonstration of his team’s technology and the next steps toward its commercialization. Plus, the team takes on a new project to clean up wastewater from oil and gas production.

Bonus content: 

Mar 15, 2023

In the second episode of this four-part season, we travel to Bend, Oregon to visit the Water and Energy Technologies Laboratory and meet the team that is inventing a new technology to desalinate water. Bahman Abbassi, associate professor of mechanical engineering, talks about building the lab from the ground up, and graduate student Mohammed Elhashimi demonstrates their system to desalinate water. 

Bonus content: 

Mar 8, 2023

Can turning seawater into drinking water be a cost-effective way to provide clean, fresh water for the growing numbers of people facing water scarcity? Bahman Abbasi, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is taking up that challenge with a mobile, modular, solar-powered, desalination system. This is the first episode in a four-part season.

Mar 29, 2022

What is Oregon doing to prepare for earthquakes, tsunamis, and wildfire? Researchers at Oregon State University are working with the state Legislature to help them make informed decisions about how to prepare for natural hazards. 

BONUS CONTENT:

Japan 2011 Earthquake

Earthquake and tsunami

Wildfire

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-11-engineering-natural-hazard-impacts/preparing-for-natures-worst 

Nov 30, 2021

After a major disaster, hidden amid the rubble and debris are precious clues about the extreme forcesstructures were subjected to, and exactly what caused them to fail. How can researchers collect this perishable data before it’s swept away? Michael Olsen, professor of geomatics and technical director of the NHERI RAPID Facility, talks about a major effort to get crucial technology into the hands of reconnaissance experts quickly, wherever disaster strikes. https://beav.es/URn

BONUS CONTENT:

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-11-engineering-natural-hazard-impacts/rapid-reconnaissance-capturing-data-aftermath-disaster-s11e6

 

Nov 16, 2021

What will it take for Oregon to recover after a magnitude 9.0 Cascadia subduction zone earthquake? Among other things, it will need a major airport to receive the tons of relief supplies from around the world. Prof. Armin Stuedlein and a research team from Oregon State University conducted crucial testing that guided engineers with big plans to make sure one of the runways at Portland International Airport survives the shaking. 

BONUS CONTENT:

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-11-engineering-natural-hazard-impacts/saving-pdx-s11e5

 

Nov 9, 2021

Wildfires that devastate mountain communities have the potential to foul the water distribution system running underneath residential structures. But knowing which water pipes have been affected is challenging. Erica Fischer, assistant professor of structural engineering, is working with a team of engineers and scientists to develop and test sensors that can easily indicate if water pipes need to be replaced following a fire.

BONUS CONTENT:

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-11-engineering-natural-disasters/what%E2%80%99s-water-after-wildfire-s11e4

 

Oct 12, 2021

How do engineers fight wildfires? With fire. David Blunck, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is trying to better understand and predict the behavior of embers that spread blazes. To do this, he has to burn a few of his own.

BONUS CONTENT:

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-11-engineering-natural-hazard-impacts/burning-learn-s11e3

 

Jul 14, 2021

What happens to bridges, buildings, and pipelines when the soil holding them up behaves like a liquid? Ben Mason, associate professor geotechnical engineering, has traveled the world doing post-earthquake reconnaissance to find out and make us better prepared for impending earthquakes.

BONUS CONTENT:

General Information

Op-eds

News articles

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-11-engineering-natural-disasters/when-earth-moves-s11e2

 

Jun 16, 2021

The long-feared 9.0 magnitude Cascadia subduction zone earthquake, which seismologists say is inevitable, will damage or destroy large swaths of Oregon’s electrical grid. How long will it take to get the juice flowing again? Weeks? Months? Professor Ted Brekken and his team are applying high-powered simulations to find out and to identify which parts of the system should be hardened against the quake at any cost. 

BONUS CONTENT:

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-11-engineering-natural-disasters/day-lights-go-out-oregon-s11e1

 

Jun 1, 2021

How do you manage a COVID-19 surge? When intensive care units are beyond capacity, health care workers are stretched thin, and life-saving equipment is in short supply, there are a lot of tough choices to be made, and quickly. Joe Agor, assistant professor of industrial engineering, is gathering the data on how hospitals prepared and responded to the pandemic, as well as how their patients fared, with the goal of helping to better manage surge capacity for future pandemics or disasters.

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-10-pandemic-puzzles/documenting-surge-s10e5

 

 

Apr 13, 2021

How can we get a more diverse group of young people interested in computer science? Focus on equity, says Jill Hubbard, instructor of computer science and co-principal investigator of a multi-university project to change how computer science is taught in high school, funded by the National Science Foundation. Over 40 schools are part of a program to make computer science more welcoming to underrepresented groups.

BONUS CONTENT:

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/changing-culture-computer-science-education-s10e4

 

Jan 13, 2021

Can middle schoolers learn computer science concepts using tabletop games? How about during a pandemic, when classroom interaction takes place remotely? Researchers in computer science and education are working closely with teachers to develop an innovative curriculum designed to broaden participation in computer science classes.

BONUS CONTENT:

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-10-pandemic-puzzles/using-games-teach-computer-science-remotely-s10e3

 

Dec 15, 2020

What can wastewater tell us about the spread of disease? Could the coronavirus’ signature RNA sequence tip public health officials to where the next COVID-19 outbreaks will occur? In this episode, we’ll talk to two researchers who are leading the effort to monitor Oregon’s wastewater streams for coronavirus, in partnership with treatment facilities throughout the state. 

BONUS CONTENT:

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-10-pandemic-puzzles/tracing-virus-through-sewers-s10e2

 

Jul 24, 2020

What’s life like for long-haul truck drivers in a COVID-19 world? We’ll get behind-the-wheel perspectives from driver (and musician) Paul Marhoefer and from Associate Professor Sal Hernandez who’s looking into how drivers have adapted to demanding conditions caused by the pandemic and the resiliency of the nation’s freight system. 

BONUS CONTENT:

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-10-pandemic-puzzles/trucking-through-covid-s10e1

 

Feb 12, 2020

Self-driving cars and planes are in our future. What are we doing to make them safe? Assistant Professor Houssam Abbas uses tiny race cars to test autonomous driving systems. And Oregon State graduate Robert Rose is using his past experience with SpaceX to develop a safe system to automate existing aircraft.

BONUS CONTENT

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-9-robotics-and-ai/age-autonomous-vehicles-s9e7

 

Jan 30, 2020

What will it take for robot assistants to become more integrated in our daily lives? Assistant Professor Naomi Fitter thinks they’ll need to master the physical aspects of social interactions, while Associate Professor Cindy Grimm cautions against programming them to behave just like us.

BONUS CONTENT

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-9-robotics-and-ai/little-help-my-robot-friend-s9e6

 

Jan 8, 2020

Will robots someday replace farm workers? Do we want them to? Assistant Professor and agricultural robotics expert Joe Davidson talks about the potential benefits of using robots in agriculture, and what goes into designing the perfect robotic apple picker.

BONUS CONTENT

https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/season-9-robotics-and-ai/and-farm-he-had-robot-s9e5

 

Dec 18, 2019

Why should robots have artificial social intelligence? According to Heather Knight, assistant professor of computer science, if robots are going to help in hospitals or work with people in factories, they will need to be adapted to our social conventions.

Dec 4, 2019

For robots to be more useful around people, they’ll need to go where we go. But how? Associate Professor Jonathan Hurst thinks the answer is simple. Walking. But actually making a walking robot is no simple feat.

Dec 4, 2019

For robots to be more useful around people, they’ll need to go where we go. But how? Associate Professor Jonathan Hurst thinks the answer is simple. Walking. But actually making a walking robot is no simple feat.

Nov 13, 2019

Can we trust artificial intelligence to make good decisions? The answer is a resounding maybe. More and more, society and individuals are entrusting AI to make potentially life-changing decisions. Rather than putting blind trust in the judgment of these remarkable systems, Alan Fern and a team of computer scientists want to reveal their reasoning processes.

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