#27 - Stephen Boppart: Future of Medicine, Surviving Cancer, & Interdisciplinarity

Stephen Boppart is a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Boppart is an engineer, medical doctor, researcher, and entrepreneur.  In this episode of The UIUC Talkshow, Dr. Stephen Boppart discusses his work in photonics and biophotonics, and the potential for quantum mechanics to play a role in biology.  Dr. Boppart also talks about his experience surviving cancer, and how it has influenced his work and perspective.  The episode covers a range of topics, including the interdisciplinary nature of science and engineering, the future of medicine, and the importance of decentralization in healthcare. We discussed the importance of future educational systems being problem-based rather than discipline-based. College degrees should help people solve problems they want to solve and tailor the degree to address the problem while building the necessary skillset.  Lastly, Dr. Boppart also offers advice to young people interested in pursuing careers in science and engineering. EPISODE LINKS: Stephen Boppartt's UIUC Website: https://ece.illinois.edu/about/directory/faculty/boppart Stephen Bopparts Lab Website: https://biophotonics.illinois.edu/ OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 1:39 - Is Everything an Oscillation? 3:00 - Quantum Biology? 4:11 - Being Interdisciplinary 6:05 - Engineer, Doctor, Entrepreneur, and Scientist 8:20 - Med School after Engineering  12:31 - The Future of Medicine 16:00 - Decentralization 18:34 - Surviving Cancer 25:46 - Medicine that affects millions, and not just one person at a time. 27:49 - Starting Companies 33:05 - Should Professors start Startups? 34:05 - Data 36:40 - Health, Technology, and Society 38:01 - The Future of Colleges 43:21 - Advice to young people 🚥Overrated or Underrated Section 🚥 46:01 - 👨‍🏫 Harvard 49:02 - ⌚️ Wearable devices 51:28 - 👦 Earl 53:10 - Closing Words SOCIAL: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uiuctalkshow Twitter: https://twitter.com/uiuctalkshow TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uiuctalkshow Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ezoc4xJa4DrGq7N4lhqQn Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-uiuc-talkshow/id1611427075 Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1H9UJqXvJXr3qlx9c89Rv76c6IpnwGeC Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1H9UJqXvJXqdyEq7fuyUz9cmpdfqN1Rb What is the UIUC Talkshow? Our goal with this show is to introduce you to the most interesting people with the most interesting ideas from the UIUC campus. Learn more about Juan David & Aaryaman: Aaryaman https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaryaman-patel-779437205/ Juan David Website: https://www.juandavidcampolargo.com/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/jdcampolargo  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdcampolargo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdcampolargo/