Machines and Molecules

A decade ago, Martin Rahmel co-founded a startup with the idea of dissolving catalysts in water for reuse. Today, he leads the Chemical Invention Factory (CIF) in Berlin, a hub for green chemistry startups. CIF's story began simply with providing a brick-and-mortar lab to decrease cost for chemistry startups, now blossoming into a ecosystem of innovation with 10Mio Euros of fun

This episode features Max Welling, a visionary at the intersection of science and machine learning. Starting under Nobel laureate Gerard 't Hooft, Max shifted from the enthralling world of physics to machine learning, inspired by the methods of his early studies. His journey through prestigious labs, including Turing Award winner Geoff Hinton's, illustrates his belief in in

In this enlightening episode, we delve deep with Finnish machine learning grandmaster Aapo Hyvärinen, as he discusses his latest book, “Painful Intelligence”. Hyvärinen, a trailblazer in unsupervised learning, sheds light on the profound connections between human suffering, the pursuit of goals, and the mechanics of learning. His discussion moves from super technical realms o

In this episode, we explore the challenges faced by scientists like Patrick Torbey, the founder of Neoplants, as they transition from academia to entrepreneurship. Patrick shares his struggles in finding a co-founder with business acumen, emphasizing the rare intersection of academic and business worlds. He discusses how building a startup, like his venture that engineers plants to

In the latest episode, Alan Aspuru-Guzik introduces us to the transformative potential of self-driving labs, where complex chemical equipment merges with machine learning. However, it's not about chasing the perfect algorithm – it's about making things work. Old workhorses like Bayesian optimization he augments with a wide range of innovative twists. Motivated by David Ki

In this captivating episode, delve into the intriguing world of enzymes, nature's microscopic machines, as Uwe Bornscheuer recounts his early fascination with their intricate design and function. Traverse through time as we explore both historical and contemporary methods of enzyme engineering and discover the parallels between enzyme optimization and techniques used in machine

In this enlightening episode, Kristof Szalay unveils the journey of Turbine - from a mere idea to a pharmaceutical game-changer. By simulating how proteins send messages in cells, Turbine is on the cusp of slashing drug discovery timeframes and ushering in groundbreaking drugs. Kristof highlights how Turbine transitioned from academia's incremental approach to the realm of engi

This episode is a deep dive with Tina Klüwer, a beacon in Germany's AI landscape. From trying to understand human thought by replicating it in machines to founding an AI startup in 2014, Tina's overflowing enthusiasm has always been an asset. We discuss the nuances between academia and startup culture and tackle pressing topics like societal biases mirrored in AI. We touch

In this episode, Ingmar chats with François-Xavier Briol (FX for short), a lecturer at University College London. FX specializes in probabilistic numerics and its applications in the natural sciences. In the episode, we nerd out about model misspecification, which addresses the challenges posed by the idea that "all models are wrong, but some are useful." We also discuss

In this first episode of Machines and Molecules, Ingmar talks with Dr. Mikio Braun talks about machine learning before it was a hype, Math and persevering through hard phases in your work (read: PhD thesis). We discuss what you learn when you move from academia to industry and the probability that humanity will be terminated by AI.