Bridging the Gap Between Research and Leadership Welcome to the Making AI Possible Podcast—your monthly deep dive into the latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and how they’re shaping the world around us. Produced at Caltech in Pasadena, California, this series features in-depth conversations with the people driving AI innovation forward. This podcast series features the latest AI advancements with some of the brightest minds in the field, such as groundbreaking research from AI industry leaders, labs here on campus, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which Caltech manages for NASA. In our October 7 session of Making AI Possible, Director of AI Programs, Nicholas Beaudoin, sits down with Dr. Crystal Dilworth, Caltech PhD, global science communicator, and host of the 100+ year Watson Lecture series, about the evolving intersection of science communication and artificial intelligence. They discuss what AI can and cannot solve in bridging the gap between research and leadership, share stories of AI as both a personal collaborator and a team thought partner, and explore how AI systems carry cultural assumptions into the workplace and beyond. From training scientists to lead in entrepreneurial spaces, to weighing whether enterprise AI choices reflect or reshape organizational values, this conversation challenges us to consider how the tools we deploy shape the future we want to build. Dr. Crystal Dilworth, AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador for STEM, is an international voice for science, strategic communicator, and non-profit board member. She received her PhD from the Caltech division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in 2014 and for the last decade has worked as a science communicator, television correspondent, and start-up advisor. She is host of the historic Watson Lectures series at Caltech, and can also be found on networks including Voice of America, Al Jazeera, and CBS. Off-screen, Dr. Dilworth works closely with academic groups and early stage start-ups, training faculty and founders in public speaking, leadership communication, and storytelling. She is an advisor for the AI working group of the Future Talent Council, helping build best practices for AI integration into higher ed and executive leadership environments, and the start-up software company Instill.ai, building the world's first AI powered "culture operating system". ♦ As Caltech CTME's Affiliate Director of AI Programs, Nicholas Beaudoin intersects strategic program development with hands-on curriculum design, positioning AI/ML education programs at the forefront of technological transformation. Leading the AI programs at Caltech's Center for Technology & Management Education, Nicholas' focus is on delivering impactful learning experiences tailored to a diverse clientele, including private and public sectors, as well as government and non-profit organizations

From Stars to Code: AI in the Hunt for Planet 9 Calling Occupants of... Planet 9! Welcome to the Making AI Possible Podcast—your monthly deep dive into the latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and how they’re shaping the world around us. Produced at Caltech in Pasadena, California, this series features in-depth conversations with the people driving AI innovation forward. This podcast series features the latest AI advancements with some of the brightest minds in the field, such as groundbreaking research from AI industry leaders, labs here on campus, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which Caltech manages for NASA. In our September 2 session of Making AI Possible, Director of AI Programs, Nicholas Beaudoin, sits down with Caltech's Professor Konstantin Batygin, astrophysicist, theorist, and co-discoverer of the proposed Planet 9, for a wide-ranging conversation on how AI will accelerate planetary science. We’ll explore what the search for Planet 9 can teach us about discovery, how coding and computation are transforming research, and where AI may shape the future of space exploration. In true rockstar fashion, we’ll close with a lively discussion on AI and music, along with the next tour stop for his critically acclaimed band, The Seventh Season.

In our August 5 webcast/podcast, host and Caltech Affiliate Director of AI Programs Nicholas Beaudoin talks with special guest Manuel Gonzalez-Rivero, Director of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the Aerospace Corporation. Together they will explore how to make AI possible—in space, covering these topics: 1. The challenges/costs/hardships unique to the space environment that make AI difficult, and how it measures the best of our energies and skills. 2. How we move from research to production in the space context to accept and meet these challenges. 3. Key technologies to embrace as quickly as possible (because the pace of progress is breathtaking) We'll be drawing from John F. Kennedy's famous September, 1962 speech on the space race challenges that still ring true today in the context of AI and space. We'll cover the robust pace of scientific advancement, the high cost and hardships—and the robust rewards.

In our July 1 webcast/podcast, host and Caltech Affiliate Director of AI Programs Nicholas Beaudoin talks with special guest Dr. Richard Anderson of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Together they will explore how statistics, machine learning, and data analytics are being used across professional baseball. From in-game decisions to front office strategy and player development, they'll discuss how teams are leveraging data to improve performance and gain an edge. Whether you’re a stat-head, an AI geek, or just love the game, this podcast delivers a fascinating look at how algorithms are changing America’s pastime.

In this webcast/podcast, host and Caltech Affiliate Director of AI Programs Nicholas Beaudoin talks with special guest Dr. Matthew Graham co-PI and Project Scientist for the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) at Caltech—a revolutionary sky survey capturing hundreds of thousands of cosmic events each night. Dr. Graham brings deep expertise in the computational and statistical challenges of large-scale astronomy, applying machine learning to phenomena like supermassive black holes and time-series analysis. Beyond the stars, we’ll explore how the lessons learned from big data ingestion, real-time AI inferencing, and reinforcement learning in astronomy are offering valuable insights for industry—from scalable AI deployment to intelligent decision systems.

Caltech Affiliate Director of AI Programs Nicholas Beaudoin, talks with special guest Dr. Georgia Gkioxari on the subject, From Research to Application, where they discuss how research applies to industry use cases and their direct applications.