From pikas to politics

Prof. Nancy Huntly is the scientist who almost never was. All through high school and university she didn’t feel like science was for her, but her curiosity has led her to study ecosystems as an academic, work for government agencies and more recently she's been researching how best to keep grad students in STEM programs. All that was not enough for Nancy though as she has also run for State Senate in Utah!

Join us as we chat about her unique and inspiring journey from pikas to politics

Season 8ScientistsIncAugust 17, 2021science, scicomm, #2scis, politics, ecology, grad schoolComment

Math the vote pt II: Polls and predictions

While at Northwestern University, Dr. Alexandria Volkening and her colleagues developed compartmental mathematical models to predict the 2020 US elections. What's a compartmental model? How do you teach kids about math modeling using Finding Nemo? Which is better: the Parmvir poll or the Alexandria poll? We ask her about this and more.

Season 8ScientistsIncAugust 10, 2021science, scicomm, #2scis, math, politics, polls, math modelComment

Math the vote pt I: The geometry of gerrymandering

Gerrymandering has been described as the process by which the people being elected get to chose the people that elect them. It turns out that, while many people would argue that gerrymandering is not healthy for democracy, doing it right requires some maths.

Dr. Thomas Weighill is a mathematician “weighing in” to do just that.

Season 8ScientistsIncAugust 3, 2021science, scicomm, #2scis, math, geometry, gerrymander, politicsComment

When science gets political

Science, genetics, teaching and policy. Four things that easily define our guest Dr. Amy J Hawkins. She’s studied the ways that DNA can be damaged in cancer. She’s worked on curricula to help teach genetics at the Genetics Science Learning Center in Utah. She’s worked with policy makers to help improve the lives of fellow Utahans.

All makes sense because science, people and politics are all connected. Find out how in this episode with Amy.

Season 7ScientistsIncMarch 26, 2020Pegasus City Breweryscience, scicomm, #2scis, genetics, teaching, policy, politicsComment