On this episode, Dr. Michael Murdoch joins the podcast to discuss how visual cues can act as diagnostics for material performance, and how engineers can preview color, gloss, translucency, surface texture, and material mixtures long before a physical prototype exists.

He is the head of the Integrated Sciences Academy at the Munsell Color Science Lab at Rochester Institute of Technology. His work focuses on how material appearance—things like color, gloss, translucency, and surface texture—can be digitally simulated, measured, and used as meaningful data long before a physical part ever exists.

With an early career as a chemical engineer at Eastman Kodak, working hands-on with thermoplastics and injection-molded components, Dr. Murdoch brings a rare blend of manufacturing experience and advanced research insight.

The Munsell Color Science Laboratory and the Program of Color Science unite to form one of the world's foremost color science research and education organizations. Their mission is to provide world-class education, research, and outreach in all areas of color science. You can learn more at https://www.rit.edu/science/munsell-color-lab.

On this episode, Ryan Condron joins the podcast to discuss his vision for moving cargo containers across vast distances with zero emissions. Ryan is the CEO of Float, a company working to build the next generation of aerial freight systems—fusing hydrogen-powered carbon fiber blimps with quadcopter agility to move cargo containers across vast distances with zero emissions.

You can learn more at https://floatair.com.

On this episode, Dr Robert Brüll, founder and CEO of FibreCoat joins the show to discuss their strategic partnership with Lofith Composites to develop next-generation thermoplastic composites for space.

This partnership joins FibreCoat's expertise in fibre coatings with Lofith's thermoplastic tape and composite manufacturing. Together, the companies will integrate FibreCoat's coated fibres into Lofith's recyclable, high-performance composites to produce lightweight structural materials designed to meet the extreme demands of space.

The first orbital demonstration of the joint material is planned for 2026, when a satellite will carry test panels into orbit for 12 months.