Engineers Explain Everything

Malachi Rein explains his work as director of the Building Energy Exchange St. Louis and how architectural engineering blends technical design with human behavior, history and the ways people interact with buildings.

What does it take to build a world-champion Mars rover for the annual University Rover Challenge? Chase Stem, CEO of Missouri S&T’s Mars Rover Design Team, discusses the team’s work, what the challenge includes and why the experience is so valuable for students.

Set in 2062, The Jetsons imagined a future with flying cars. Engineers today are working to make these vehicles a reality sooner than the Jetsons timeline may suggest. Dr. Xiaosong Du explains how AI-driven design is being used to develop electric aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing, how they work and when we might start seeing them in the skies with passengers.

You combine crushed rock with water and cyanide. You double-check your notes, built on the wisdom of generations past. Eventually, you have liquid gold — and you have the power to turn it into solid gold whenever you want.Are you a wizard? No — even better. You’re a hydrometallurgist. Dr. Michael Moats explains what hydrometallurgy is, how it differs from traditional furnace-based methods and why it is a crucial process for producing the metals we rely on every day.

When most people think about how glass can be used, storing nuclear waste probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But it’s a major part of Dr. Charmayne Lonergan’s research. In this episode, she explains what glass is and some of its most fascinating uses, such as in extreme environments, wound care and cancer treatments.

Microwaving turmeric might sound like a step in a recipe book, but it’s actually part of Dr. Hany El-Azab’s biomedical engineering research. El-Azab explains how microwave-assisted chemistry could create new derivatives of curcumin — the pigment in turmeric known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties — that may stay in the body longer and enhance its health benefits. He also explains how catalysts and flow reactors work and how these technologies could potentially lower the cost of prescription drugs.

Explosives engineers make things go boom. But it’s more complicated than that. Dr. Catherine Johnson explains what explosives engineering entails, the career possibilities in the field, her fascinating research — and even the time she helped Ozzy Osbourne set off explosives at the Missouri S&T Experimental Mine.

Hypersonic vehicles travel at least five times the speed of sound and can experience temperatures twice as hot as molten lava. Engineers like Dr. William Fahrenholtz are developing advanced ceramic materials that can withstand these extreme conditions and protect what’s inside the vehicles. Fahrenholtz explains what this research involves and why it matters.

Paper products are part of everyday life, but their performance depends on expert engineers. What makes a paper towel truly superior? Why do toilet paper companies even need to market their products? How does paper actually work? Dr. Hossein Abedsoltan from Missouri S&T explains these topics and more.

Big developments in nuclear energy are increasingly centered on smaller reactor designs. Dr. Joshua Schlegel explains what a small modular nuclear reactor is, how these smaller reactors differ from traditional plants, how nuclear power works in general, and how decommissioned mine sites could also factor into the picture.

Many of the key materials that make modern technology possible are classified by the U.S. government as critical minerals. Dr. Kwame Awuah-Offei explains why these materials matter for national security and economic stability and why it is vital for the U.S. to improve its domestic supply chain and rely less on other countries. He also explains how Missouri S&T and its Tech Hub are leading national efforts to address this challenge.

Plants don’t talk, but engineers know how to make them tell stories. Dr. Joel Burken explains phytoforensics — a concept developed at Missouri S&T that uses plants to detect and monitor environmental contamination. Along the way, he also explains what environmental engineering is, what environmental engineers actually do, and why their work matters.

Dr. David Bayless helps unpack what engineers actually do and why the field is so important. From different engineering disciplines to research on bioreactors designed for the moon, the conversation explores how engineers tackle big challenges — and how Missouri S&T is leading the way.