Never Lick the Spoon

Let’s define the problem.  Is there a plastic iceberg in the ocean? No, of course not. Micro plastics are invisible. And it’s going up the food chain. Why is there no solution for complex plastics (like nappies and crisp packets)?  How can we make multifunctional materials with smart polymers for solving grand challenges?    Join host Professor Joao Cabral (Chemical Engineering, Imperial), Professor Alamgir Karim (Chemical Engineering at University of Houston) and Post Doc Researcher Dr. Pedro Nakasu (Imperial) as they discuss the complexity of the life cycle of polymers (plastics) and how it affects the drive towards sustainable waste solutions.   Host Professor Joao Cabral - Professor of Soft Matter, Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial Joao's links: https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/j.cabral   Guests Prof Alamgir Karim - Dow Chair and Welch Foundation Professor Director, International Polymer & Soft Matter Center (IPSMC) Alamgir's links: https://www.chee.uh.edu/faculty/karim Dr. Pedro Nakasu - Research Associate, Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial Pedro's links: https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/p.souza-nakasu17   Topics Discusses in this episode; Different types of Polymers and their relationship to waste.  Challenge in separation processes for recycling.  Upcycling polymers instead of recycling.   Fast Fashion and the degradation of fibres.  Complex plastics (composites) that are difficult to recycle.  Machines of the Futures to assist with sorting plastic.  Role of consumers (Cost vs Performance)  Process of diffusion.    Smart use of plastics in healthcare.  Sustainable plastics trending.  Need for Systems Thinking and transdisciplinary collaborations.    Produced by Annemarie van Basten https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemarie-van-basten   Additional Links Imperial Department of Chemical Engineering link - https://www.imperial.ac.uk/chemical-engineering/   Karim Research Group link - https://karimlab.chee.uh.edu/   Article: Mapping the Chemical Complexity of Plastics link: Mapping the chemical complexity of plastics | Nature   Article: 'Your brain is full of microplastics: are they harming you?' link - Your brain is full of microplastics: are they harming you?   Article: 'Plastic recycling: A panacea or environmental pollution problem' link - Plastic recycling: A panacea or environmental pollution problem | npj Materials Sustainability      

In this episode we ask experts in Conservation and Conservation Research about the challenges they face in preserving our history, and why heritage conservation is important in today's times. Do we need more science and engineering researchers in the field of conservation? How is their work impacted by climate change? This episode is part of our SERCH series (Science and Engineering Research for Cultural Heritage). For more episodes, please look at our episode list.    Guests  Micheal Paraskos - Profile | Imperial College London  Evening Class Manager  Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication, at Imperial  Jasmin McKenzie - LinkedIn  Modern and Contemporary Sculpture and Installations Conservator, PhD student  V&A, Imperial  Kate Jennings - Kate Jennings | Tutor at West Dean College  Subject Leader, Conservation Studies specialising in Metalwork  Marc Vermeulen - LinkedIn  Head of Heritage Science - Conservation Research, at The National Archives  Sonja Schwoll - LinkedIn   Head of Conservation and Treatment Development, at The National Archives  Katerina Williams - LinkedIn   Book and Paper Conservator, at The National Archives   David Thickett   Senior conservation scientist at, English Heritage  Home - GoGreen  Lorraine Cornish - LinkedIn  Head of Conservation  Natural History Museaum    Other Links  Science and Engineering Research for Cultural Heritage (SERCH)  Imperial Futures | About | Imperial College London  Icon - The Institute of Conservation 

At the Science and Engineering Research for Cultural Heritage Conference 2025, a panel discussed "Balancing Innovation and Craft: Do Practical Skills Still Matter in the age of AI?" Panel members include; Professor Ambrose Taylor (Chair), Professor of Materials Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London  Professor Pier Luigi Dragotti, Professor of Signal Processing in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London  Lorraine Cornish, Head of Conservation at Natural History Museum  Kat Harris, Senior Teaching Technician in the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College London  Hosted by the Institute for Molecular Science and Engineering (IMSE) This is the first episode in our SERCH series, produced by Imperial Futures.

The time has come to make new year resolutions! How about starting a collaboration with a researcher in a different field? Or expanding research beyond the lab into industry applications and policy recommendations? If these ideas have crossed your mind, then your new resolution could be to take a transdisciplinary approach.  At IMSE's annual research showcase, we spoke to academics, journal editors and industry stakeholders to understand what transdisciplinary means and how they are using this approach to solve grand challenges. Have a listen at the diverse projects! 

If you had access to a 3D printer, what would you print? Something fun, something useful? How about both? Alex Christopherson, a final year undergraduate student in Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London and David Samuel, an artist based in Park Royal Design Studios, collaborated to create a 3D printed sculpture that doubles as a microscope and allows you to see a 3D printed Queens Tower 100,000 times smaller than the real one! Engineering and art coming together to 3D print a sculpture. In this episode, we talk to both Alex and David. They discussed the design and production of the sculpture and how an engineer and an artist communicated throughout the project. Follow this link  https://blogs.imperial.ac.uk/molecular-science-engineering/2024/09/06/engineering-a-3d-printed-sculpture/ to have a look at the sculpture!   

Women in Engineering day is celebrated on the 23rd of June. To commemorate this special date, we talked to two women in engineering working and studying with the Institute for Molecular Science and Engineering (IMSE). Our guests for this episode are electrochemist and co-director of the Molecular Engineering masters, Dr. Anna Hankin, and masters' student and representative of her cohort, Kawtar Houbad. Listen to their stories on how they became engineers, their current projects, engineering skills outside of the lab - from fixing boilers to building steam engines at home - and learn about the power of mentoring.   Link to the Masters in Molecular Engineering https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/courses/postgraduate-taught/molecular-engineering/   

What sorts of science and engineering challenges do museums have in looking after their collections? In this episode I explore how Imperial’s research into data science, polymers and lasers is being used to understand and preserve historical and archaeological objects. In this episode my guests refer to two chests in the collections of the Victoria & Albert museum. The first is the Mazarin Chest with its Japanese lacquer surface. The results of the conservation of the lacquer have been published in Scientific Conservation. The second is a 17th century embroidered box. Vibrational modelling on this casket was carried out by Kerstin Kracht (Technical University of Berlin) to build a crate to allow this to be safely shipped overseas for display.

A team at Imperial are building a robotic laboratory called DIGIBAT. This will automate research into materials for energy storage and energy generation. Robots won't just discover new materials. They'll also do the laborious work of testing all the many combinations of those materials to find out which make the best batteries and fuel cells. 

What do fertilizer, body lotion, paracetamol tablets and mayonnaise have in common? Well, they’re all engineered mixtures, and they all have a long list of unpronounceable chemicals on the back of the packet. How can adjusting these chemicals affect the climate impact of the product? We dive deep into formulations.

What are the sustainable alternatives to kerosene to power aircraft into a net zero world? And what would it take to scale their production up to meet demand? I talk to two authors of the recent IMSE briefing paper on low carbon fuels for aviation. We talk energy, technology readiness levels and the need for multidisciplinarity. Read the IMSE briefing paper about low carbon fuels for aviation here. Read our blog post about the launch event. Watch the briefing paper launch event and discussion on YouTube. We also refer to the 2023 Royal Society policy briefing in the podcast. 

Silicon-based solar panels are four times as efficient as plants at harvesting energy from sunlight. But they're expensive to produce because the material they're made of has to be very precisely engineered. What if we could make solar panels out of copper oxides, where the imperfections in the material are what makes them effective? I talk to two researchers who used a supercomputer to discover this. The research we're discussing is published here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsami.2c16889

Molecules that change shape when light falls on them have many uses. Like the Trojan Horse, they can look benign, but transform into a weapon under the right circumstances. This week we explore how photoswitchable molecules could help tackle the next pandemic. The research we’re discussing is published here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jacsau.2c00453

This month, we're focusing on a chemical process which is all around us: how crystals form. Humans have been using crystallisation to harvest salt from seawater for millennia. In the modern industrial world, it's used to make sugar, gemstones and silicon chips. So it’s a bit of a surprise to find a completely undiscovered phenomenon, of a crystal healing itself, happening in crystals of paracetamol. How have we missed this? Why is it happening? And how could it be useful? 

One way of increasing food production is to develop substitutes for soil which can be used to grow plants. Why is 3D printing a good way of doing this? And how could it be used make new non-Earth type soils for farming in space?

How could we make our cities greener, and how would that change how liveable they are? In a first for this podcast, I talk to a current masters student at Imperial about her research project developing a new type of concrete that can support life.  

3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is a method of producing objects by printing them in layers. The layers can be made out of metal, ceramic or, most often, plastics. But could we actually print living cells into tissues or organs?

In the last few decades, thousands of acres of rainforest have been cleared for palm oil plantations in southeast Asia, with a consequent loss of biodiversity. Currently in Africa, coconut palm production is industrialising. Can this be done more sustainably than in Southeast Asia? I talk to two PhD students at Imperial who are using DNA sampling to explore biodiversity in coconut agriculture, and its links to ecosystem resilience and also economic resilience for farmers.  

We're all being urged to reduce, reuse, recycle our plastics these days. But some types of bacteria have already evolved to be able to eat some kinds of plastic. Could these organisms help solve the plastic waste crisis?

Last time we heard about some of the positive aspects that wearable tech has been bringing to modern life, now we hear about its dubious side. From big tech trying to guess if you're happy or sad so they can sell you stuff, to healthcare apps that monitor much more than they should. One thing is for sure - by the end of the episode you’ll be checking every T&C on every app or piece of tech you have at home - if you don’t do so already!

In a two part special on wearable technology, we are joined by experts that look at this booming industry from completely different perspectives. In the first episode we look at wearable tech's exciting potential, including how mass consumer devices, that previously simply nagged you to walk more, are becoming more like sophisticated medical devices. And since heart rate data from Fitbits were able to predict infection outbreak, could this lead to a better understanding of disease transmission in the community?

We take a break from our usual molecular bread and butter and look at the recent American presidential election. After all, American presidents are made of molecules too, right? We begin our story back at the 2016 presidential election, where Russia (and others) tried to influence the outcome of the result by spreading misinformation through social media channels. But what happened in 2020? We find out! Blog on misinformation: http://wwwf.imperial.ac.uk/blog/the-forum/2020/11/02/misinformation-and-social-media-in-the-us-election-comparing-2016-and-2020/

It's our 13th episode! Far from being Triskaidekaphobes - that is of course the phobia of the number 13 - we’re lucky enough to have a returning guest who brings some much needed positivity on the Covid-19 vaccine search. We also hear how a chance fishing trip off of Seattle could provide scientists with the answer to just how many antibodies someone needs to fight the virus successfully - another piece of luck! Link to the #TeamHalo home page: https://teamhalo.org/ Anna Blakney's TikTok account: https://www.tiktok.com/@anna.blakney

Turning our attention away from Covid, we look at a different disease that has plagued humanity since the time of the ancient Egyptians - and still claims 280,000 lives every year. What’s all the more tragic, is it's curable by modern medicine. We hear from 2 researchers who are part of a multinational, multidiscipline team who are trying to finally eradicate it. WISER: Water Infrastructure for Schistosomiasis-Endemic Regions

From the humble AAs we stick into the back of our TV remote controls, to our phones, laptops, and increasingly, our cars, batteries are now everywhere to be found. We hear from someone who spends more time than most of us examining these magical capsules that power our lives, and looks at what exciting new ways we could use them. Ethical and environmental battery brands: https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/energy/shopping-guide/batteries 

We have a returning guest with some exciting results from the initial tests of the vaccine! Anna Blakney gives us an update on vaccine trials, including when they now think it will be ready, along with her take on public health measures and the use of masks.

Continuing on from the last episode, Kieran hears about the work of a team at Imperial College who are now grappling with the next big challenge to producing a Covid-19 vaccine: how to make enough of the vaccine for billions of people. And since it's mental health week, we speak to the team about the pressures they face and how they are managing to cope.

Most of us have been in some form of lock down now for several weeks. The only sure way we can get back to the life we had before is with a vaccine, which is what researchers at Imperial College London are trying to develop. Kieran speaks to one of the team about what it’s like developing arguably the most urgent tool ever needed. Music: Viral Counterpoint of the Coronavirus Spike Protein by Markus J Buehler.

Carbon capture is muted by some as a key tool in the fight against that other huge challenge facing human kind, climate change. Kieran finds out more about this emerging field by going on a tour of Europe’s first educational carbon capture pilot plant, and discovers how recycled carbon could be used to make mattresses!

From HG Wells to David Bowie, "is there life on Mars?" is one of the most iconic questions yet to be answered. We speak to someone who could be one of the first people to answer that question in the next year! Also, the recent coronavirus outbreak shows us just how quickly disease can spread. With the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance is it just a matter of time before now curable infections - like bubonic plague - make their return?

Ever wonder why you hate Brussels sprouts? It turns out the answer could be in your genes! It's also the reason chemical in these controversial little vegetables was used as a paternity test! We also investigate an unintended side effect of our festive gorging - fatbergs - and how researchers in Imperial are exploring ways to use them as a biofuel. 

Every schoolchild will tell you that Penicillin, one of the great discoveries of the 20th century, was discovered by Alexander Fleming. But it was a young German refugee that brought Penicillin out of the scientific papers and into the hospital, his name was Ernst Chain. Kieran travels to University College London to speak to Ernst’s son, Benny, himself a pioneer in biochemistry.

3D printing has evolved to the stage where we can now create aircraft parts, satellite components, medical implants and even copies of people’s faces. However, as Kieran finds out, this promising field also has potentially troubling aspects. Also, in the era of "fake news", we hear how science communication is more important than ever with the presenter of the BBC World Service programme "Digital Planet", Gareth Mitchel.

Kieran hears how the efforts of a Physics postdoc for greater recognition for female scientist resulted in her being named in Nature's 10 scientists that mattered in 2018, and we speak to the next generation of female entrepreneurs.

In our first episode, Kieran finds out how social you are can influence how you feel about social media. We also hear how researchers in Imperial are developing smart tattoos capable of monitoring health by changing colour, which could tell an athlete when they are dehydrated or a diabetic when their blood sugar level rises.