Science in Parallel

Dec 11 2024 28 ep. 30 mins 7

Science in Parallel Podcast artwork

Science in Parallel focuses on people in computational science and their work simulating climate and the cosmos, understanding viral infections, building alternative energy strategies and more – using high-performance computing (HPC). Host Sarah Webb interviews researchers about their career paths and motivations. Our conversations cover topics such as artificial intelligence, integrating emerging hardware, the effects of remote work, promoting diversity and inclusion, and the role of creativity in computing. Our show is for curious, science-oriented listeners who like technology. You don’t need a deep background in science and computing to learn from our guests. Science in Parallel has been shortlisted for the Publisher Podcast Awards: for 2022 Best Technology Podcast, 2023 Best Science and Medical Podcast and both categories in 2024. It is produced by the Krell Institute and is a media outreach project of the Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE CSGF) program.

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S5E6 - Anil Ananthaswamy: AI's Nobel Moment

Dec 11 2024 32 mins

2024 was artificial intelligence’s Nobel Prize year with the physics and chemistry prizes recognizing the underpinnings and application of these algorithms. Science journalist and author Anil Ananthaswamy spent years writing a popular book, Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI, that explores the equations and historical context for this technology. In this conver

S5E5 - Sadie Bartholomew: Patterns in Computing and Art

Nov 13 2024 28 mins

The annual Supercomputing meeting (SC24) convenes November 17-22 in Atlanta with the theme of HPC creates, and Science in Parallel previews a special display at the meeting: the Art of HPC. Host Sarah Webb interviews Sadie Bartholomew of the United Kingdom's National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the University of Reading about her work as a research software engineer and her

S5E4 - Paulina Rodriguez: Building Credibility and Authenticity

Oct 09 2024 30 mins

Early in her applied math journey, Paulina Rodriguez was a little skeptical of calculators and computers. But her desire to really understand what’s going on under the hood has ultimately led to satisfying research. During her Ph.D., she’s explored the credibility of computational models for medical device applications, making sure that researchers understand the accuracy, vali

S5E3 - Paul Sutter the Spaceman: Adventures in Science and Outreach

Sep 11 2024 45 mins

Science communication often attracts people with diverse interests, who thrive in multiple roles. Paul Sutter is no exception: he’s an astrophysicist, host, author and more. He’s also a visiting professor at Barnard College, Columbia University. Paul’s roots are in computational science, and he shares how his many projects continue to build on that foundation. We also discuss

S5E2 - Rogelio Cardona-Rivera Plays Games for Science

Aug 14 2024 46 mins

Video games are everywhere, but the fundamental elements that generate human reactions such as suspense or surprise aren’t understood. Instead, game designers start from scratch each time they want to build a new experience for players. Rogelio Cardona-Rivera of the University of Utah wants to understand games and the fundamental elements that make people respond as they do—as

S5E1 - Lois Curfman McInnes: Building Software Sustainability and Workforce Diversity

Jul 10 2024 25 mins

The field of high-performance computing (HPC) currently faces dual challenges: important technical problems that require a skilled workforce and the need to recruit more computational researchers, especially those from underrepresented communities. This conversation with Lois Curfman McInnes of Argonne National Laboratory examines both the complexity in building scientific software

S4E4 - Anubhav Jain: Hacking Materials

Nov 08 2023 32 mins

Artificial intelligence is reshaping research to discover new materials for a range of important applications. In this episode, meet Anubhav Jain of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a researcher who has been at the forefront of this transition. He uses machine learning and other computational tools as a materials scientist to discover compounds that could store and convert en

Season 4, Episode 3 -- Danilo Pérez: Embracing Versatility

Oct 25 2023 37 mins

Sometimes extraordinary circumstances like the pandemic offer researchers unexpected opportunities to serve others. Danilo Pérez, now a Ph.D. student in computational neuroscience at New York University, found himself in this situation in Puerto Rico in 2020. He contributed his mathematical modeling expertise as part of a team that built and maintained Puerto Rico’s public healt

Season 4, Episode 2 -- Casey Berger: Choose Your Own Multidimensional Career

Oct 11 2023 29 mins

Traditional science career advice often urges people to specialize and become the best at one activity. But that perspective can undervalue interdisciplinary researchers and other polymaths who can see connections between and beyond science and engineering fields. This episode’s guest, Casey Berger, describes how she has navigated this second approach, embracing her many interest

Season 4, Episode 1 -- Creativity in Climate Modeling

Sep 27 2023 36 mins

Season 4 of Science in Parallel centers around creativity and computing, starting with an interview about climate modeling. At this nexus of physics, earth science, mathematics and computing, researchers are also racing against the clock to accurately predict how global climate is shifting before the changes happen. Pulling all the scientific pieces together and communicating those