If there's anyone who can tell us the truth about what's out there, it's this week's guest. Justin Crevier, a former diplomat for the State Department, regales us with his story of how typhoid got him interested in not only studying Earth analog processes (and having a blast with volcanoes), but also delving into a whole other world (literally) while studying dust devils on Mars! Hint: The Tasmanian Devil doesn't create them....Justin really does take us on an epic journey around the Universe, as he describes dark matter, Einstein Crosses, and a whole host of amazing worldly facts! We can't think of a better episode to conclude our Epic Earth adventure on. His thoughts and advice will leave you curious for more, and that's the point.Now, go create your own EPIC adventure!- recorded December 2023
If you're intrigued, confused, or slightly bothered by the title of this episode, then you're going to want to listen to this week's guest! Meet Dr. Carina Minardi, a kick-butt, formally trained analytical chemist who made a major shift in her career by jumping out of the traditional lab environment and into starting her own organization, called STEM From. Among her many accomplishments, she is also on the Board of Directors for the nonprofit Maker Mindz - which provides experimental kits to schools and other organizations to make STEM accessible and available to kids of all demographics. Carina humorously reminds us why doing a "bunny flop" is worth the spirit animal vibe, and how our inner child brings out the best indoor fort-building skills! And, of course, for all of our inner children, we talk a lot about Uranus....need we say more? - recorded November 2023 For more information about the STEM From organization, and to get in touch with Carina, please visit: https://www.stemfrom.org/
....but, let's not call the whole thing off!! Why the title? Well, there's a saying in Tasmania that states "Never plant your tomatoes before Show Day" (which is the 4th Saturday in October). But, according to Edward Doddridge - a research associate in physical oceanography at the University of Tasmania - it turns out that with warmer and longer summers globally (which means, they are starting earlier), those in Tasmania can actually now plant tomatoes on average 18 days earlier than in the 1900s! It isn't just Tasmania that is seeing seasonal effects of climate change, however. Changes are happening globally and impacting everyone - from the wine industry to wildfire fighters, to residents in Tornado Alley and Hurricane/Cyclone paths. It can be a scary and daunting outlook for the future. BUT, we have three of the most amazing women on the show this week to help alleviate some of the climate woes, and make sure we all stay on track to help planet Earth keep providing! Meet: Jen Pierce - a Professor of Geosciences at Boise State University, whose research tackles climate education, wildfires and climate change, soils and carbon sequestration in the critical zone, and feedback among hydrological, biological, and geological systems. Jenny Wolf - an education coordinator for the City of Boise's WaterShed Water and Climate Change Education Center. She spends her time developing outreach, curriculum, educator training, and communication products around local climate change impacts. She is an organizer for the City of Boise's Youth Climate Action Council and enjoys finding interdisciplinary ways to connect Idahoans to climate change. and Deb Roman - works as an Integrative Medicine Family Physician in Boise and is deeply concerned about the detrimental impact of the wildfires, poor air quality and other consequences of climate change on the health and well-being of the people who live in Idaho. In response, she has worked with a committed group of healthcare and education professionals to create the Compassionate Communities, an inter-generational healthcare movement focused on rekindling cooperative responsibility for the health of our communities, advancing health equity and inspiring compassionate action. Join us as we all three of these brilliant minds delve into the problems and solutions to Climate Change and what the broader impacts will be for us in the future. SOME OF THE INITIATIVES TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE IN IDAHO: In 2024, a Statewide Strategic Planning Summit will be held to meaningfully engage a diverse and committed group of stakeholders to collectively and compassionately address the short and long term climate-related health concerns of our friends, family members, neighbors and colleagues in Idaho communities. INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE, OR HEARING ABOUT WAYS YOU CAN GET INVOLVED?? Contact us on FB or IG and let us know what type of information or projects you're wanting to or already participate in! - Recorded May 2023
We cannot be more thrilled to introduce our guest this week! Sharon Backhouse is the Director of GeoTenerife, a UK and Spanish company that organizes field trips and training programs in the sunny Canary Islands. The Canary Islands are a topographically- and bio-diverse archipelago south of Spain, and west of Morocco. Apart from their stunning beauty, they also are the site of the 2021 La Palma eruption - a highly destructive eruption for many living on and touring the island. Join us as Sharon tells us how her journalistic background brought her into the world of volcano story-telling, and the many reasons why "getting the whole story" is facilitating what we know about and how to better prepare for volcanic eruptions. You won't want to miss this episode, as Sharon shares some explosive stories and reflections (not just about volcanoes)! -Recorded: Mar 2023
Join us this week as we interview Thomas Farrell, a PhD Geoscience student at Boise State. If you ever need to know the time...as in, deep time...then Thomas is the person to ask! Thomas literally floats through life (not figuratively...he's seriously one of the hardest working students we know!), as his research takes him on rafting adventures through the multi-colored, and fossil-ridden Grand Canyon. The aim of the game? To constrain processes affecting the environment 494 million years ago (during Cambrian times)! And the craziest part!? He can do this by analyzing one of the tiniest components in rocks, a trace mineral known as zircon...honestly, it's mind-boggling how small the zircons are and the effort into getting a good-quality sample. When he's not literally conducting blasts from the past with his zealous zircon zapping, he's humbly humming over the passage of time. So, hop in the raft, and hold tight as we take you on this stratigraphically Epic journey!
-Recorded: Mar 2023
We think if sediment transport had a theme song, it would be Tina Turner's version of "Proud Mary"...you know, because all that sediment is "rolling on the river." See...we can make puns and jokes in literally any field of Geoscience...including river science. Also, singing a song might be a little easier to digest than the impressive research areas of Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics that this week's guest, Nicole Hucke, studies! Nicole is an amazing PhD student from the University of Idaho who researches seasonal river fluxes and how snowmelt and summer monsoons affect sediment suspension and transport and river systems during high-flow events. She also teaches us that, just like elephants, rivers never forget! Join us as Nicole regales us with type-2 fun, but hilarious, tales from the field, including one Elk who thought her equipment was a toilet. We think it's safe to say, you'll be streaming this episode in more ways than one this week...don't forget to bring a towel!
Meet Nora Honkomp, a MS student in the Raptor Biology program at Boise State University - or as she likes to call herself, a "certified bird nerd". Join us as she elaborates on her research in the global change ecology of birds, more specifically, migratory raptors, whose seasonal migratory patterns may be changing due to changes in the climate and the environment. Nora also espouses citizen scientists and teaches us why community science is like the beneficial paparazzi of the bird world! (Yes, even the bird communities have their George Clooneys and Julia Roberts). There's no fowl play in this episode, only the reminder to look up to the skies more often. And we all know you'll be raven about this episode once you listen to it!
Did you know glaciers are a lot like checking accounts? There's a budget where adding snow and ice to them is positive, and there are all the expenditures in the billions of gallons of water that are lost from glaciers every year. That's how our next guest, Aman KC, describes his research in Kalaallit Nunaat, which we commonly refer to as Greenland. Join us as Aman tells us how remote sensing is used to study the fascinating, yet rapidly declining, tidewater glaciers along the periphery of this landmass. AND..., as if that's not "cool" enough, Aman also teaches us some Nepalese words that you can practice as well! We don't know how Aman stays so cool in this warming world, but what we do know is you won't want to miss his Epic interview!
If you didn't already know, there's another side to studying volcanoes. While most people think of the "big picture" aspects of volcanoes (like the lahars that Ashley studies) they don't often think of the small-scale aspects - which are JUST as important. Join us as we interview BSU Geoscience Ph.D. student, Jade Bowers, who uses petrology like a detective uses clues to understand a rare phenomenon - mafic magma that erupts explosively! Learn why studying the texture, mineralogy, and chemistry of the magma chamber can tell us A LOT about how and why a volcano erupts (or erupted in the past) in a particular manner. You won't want to miss this explosive episode.
Join us as we interview STEM enthusiast, Earth Science junkie, and one of the coolest people doing amazing outreach in the community, Mattie Honea. Mattie currently works in Boise State's COBE Career Services, but her background with the Discovery Center and Girl Scouts has provided EPIC STEM opportunities to hundreds of youth in the Boise area. Mattie shares with us some of her favorite stories about teaching kids about coprolite (fossilized feces) and the opportunity to interact with Sue the T-Rex. Her tenacious and passionate personality to bring youth, especially girls, into STEM careers is infectious...and the outreach bug is definitely one you want to catch. Tune in to learn why!
This week, we interview Ph.D. Geoscience Education Research Candidate, Greg Shafer. If you're wondering what the workforce and job perspective for geoscience career paths look like, then you'll want to listen to this episode. His work is pioneering the way for research and influencing how private and public sector agencies are advertising, offering, and recruiting young professionals into the workforce. Discover why Greg is like a compass, guiding and calibrating students through the minefield, which is life after undergrad. And hear his wild field story about an encounter with a cottonmouth snake. It will leave you on the edge of your seat. We also put Greg through the wringer of "Would you rather....". You don't want to miss his educated and well-thought-out answers!
Join us as we interview one of the most laid back graduate students you'll ever meet, Maggie Holahan. She may be studying a "stressed" volcano that has to blow off a lot of steam, but Maggie uses her knowledge of the outdoors and her research with infrasound to understand eruption patterns of Steamboat Geyser - currently the World's most active tallest geyser tucked away in the heart of Yellowstone National Park. Learn why Maggie's research is analogous to a heart-rate monitor and what research looks like when you work with National Parks. We probably don't have to tell you this, but things are about to get steamy....
- recorded October 2022
If you'd like to learn more about applying for Federal and State jobs, reach out to Maggie - who has a LOT of experience working with these agencies, or visit the USGS, NFS, or NPS websites, or www.USAjobs.gov.
Meet Angela Seibert, a down to Earth BSU Master's student, working in the Boise Center Aerospace Lab (BCAL). She's a quiet scientist but with a big heart! Angela does it all, from rollerblading to snowsports, to painting to fighting the good fight in environmental justice. She does all of this while using LiDAR to make 3D models of peatlands and measure vegetation structure. The Earth is warming up, but Angela is keeping it cool - join us as we hear all about her striking field story where she and her field partner had to save some equipment from a lightning storm rolling in, and her awesome work on the BSU Community Garden.
-recorded October 2022
This episode really brings something special to the STEM stories. For the first time in Epic Earth history, we interview not just one amazing STEM go-getter, but THREE! And they are some of Boise State's finest and most well-respected! Meet:
Eric Jankowski: an associate professor in the Micron School of Materials Science and engineering where he uses computing to understand organic materials for solar power and aerospace applications.
Krishna Pakala: an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering where he uses engineering education research as an engine to identify evidence-based approaches that best enhance student experiences.
AND
Anne Hamby: an assistant professor of Marketing in the college of business and economics where she studies the ways that consumers understand and are influenced by narratives.
Alongside being three amazing teachers, these three EPIC stars are giving a voice to science through "The Story Collider" project - a non-profit storytelling organization that focuses on the personal connection we all have with science. Eric, who is also The Story Collider board president, says "Everyone has a science story to tell", and as part of the mission, this organization allows "people from all walks of life - from scientists and doctors to journalists and comedians to artists, firefighters, and bartenders" - to artfully tell their story through trainings and public productions.
Join us as we learn more about their stories and the awesome method of communicating science through story-telling. We couldn't WAIT to post this podcast!
What's your narrative? What story would you tell?
If you'd like more information about The Story Collider Project, please feel free to reach out to Eric, Krishna, or Anne, or visit the website, at: https://www.storycollider.org
Meet Danielle Marquette - a kick butt Geoscience Masters student at Boise State sharing her wealth of knowledge with grade school kids. We have always been taught not to play with fire, but that's exactly what Danielle does in order to teach local students about climate change and wildfires in Idaho. Join us as we delve into this FIREY tale of Epic proportions and "hot" topics (it's the end of the semester...our puns are going up in flames). We hope the knowledge and insight Danielle brings to this episode spreads like a wildfire...
-recorded April 2022
We can probably all relate to the saying "With Great Powder, Comes Great Responsibilty". At least, that's what our Epic star for this episode thinks! Meet Brent Wilder - a PhD Geoscience student at Boise State working with the SnowEx Project. His research combines all sorts of cool remote sensing tools to examine the impact of wildfires and climate change on snowpack distributions here in Idaho. Join us as we learn about his COOL science and just how important snowpack is to our watersheds. We also have a new segment, where we put Brent's creativity to the test - with his autotune geomorph song. We wouldn't be surprised if this is the next big chart topper!
If you'd like to hear the real version of Brent's favorite research-related song, please visit: ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsXKv1yfNFk
-Recorded April 2022
Let's face it...it was only a matter of time before we interviewed Jerry Mock, Geophysics Masters student at BSU, who is doing some awesome work with drones and lahar (volcanic mudflow) drainages! Join us as Jerry explains how being a non-traditional student has its perks and how he ended up on a project that works exclusively with remote controlled aerial vehicles. We also learn some of the clever names he has given his artillery of drones, including his favorite, "Vincent van Drone". This might be the one episode you don't mind us droning on and on about research...
-recorded March 2022
Say hello to Lauren Lynam - a fun loving graduate of Chapman University, who double majored in Environmental Science & Policy and Economics, and also is certified in Applied Statistical Analysis. She not only has an impressive undergraduate degree, but has also been published in the journal Water - discussing the projections of California's droughts through the year 2100. Join us as we learn how Lauren was influenced by philosophy and how shifting into an environmental consciousness is almost like thinking like many of the great philosophers. Her comments on our more "serious" questions will leave you feeling like the world is in good hands. She's just the type of person we need fighting the good fight for the STEM fields....the ninja protecting us from our Environmental nemeses.
-recorded March 2022
On this episode of EpicEarth, we interview BSU PhD Geoscience student, Mac Beers. Mac studies hydrology and water resources in the Dry Creek Experimental Watershed close to Boise to understand water resources in the Western US that can help facilitate balancing the needs of humans with those of the natural systems we live with. Join us as we find out why his work is analogous to a medical doctor examining a patient, and just how close Mac has come to seeing a mountain lion while doing field work! Mac's knowledgeable answers and fun approaches to his "serious" questions will captivate! We're opening the floodgates on this fascinating science and deep dive into why Mac's research is essential for life on this Epic Earth...
-recorded February 2022
Meet Lisa Hecht, an inspirational woman in the STEM field, who is influencing the environment in a big way. Join us as we talk to Lisa about her background in engineering, her work as a life coach, and her ambition and motivation to reduce her carbon footprint by two-thirds! Lisa explains to us how small changes can have a big impact, and how easy it can be to reduce your carbon footprint in half - and save big bucks while doing so! Lisa is living proof that "every little bit helps." She also has participated in various State and National organizations like Citizen's Climate Lobby and Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and is a founding member of the Idaho CleanTech Alliance (link below) and the Idaho Business for the Outdoors. With her impressive background and carbon reduction initiatives, Lisa will definitely inspire you to "Be the [climate] change you want to see in the world!"....
Want to calculate your carbon footprint? Head to the Cool Climate project, and click on "tools": https://coolclimate.org/
Want to learn more on how to reduce your carbon footprint? Check out this book by UCS: https://islandpress.org/books/cooler-smarter
Other initiatives you might be interested in: Idaho CleanTech Alliance: https://www.cleantechalliance.org/idaho-chapter/
Idaho Power - Energy Efficient Programs: https://www.idahopower.com/energy-environment/energy/clean-today-cleaner-tomorrow/
-recorded January 2022
