Episodes

  • The weather machine: Kara Sulia on what AI can (and can't) tell us about weather

    The weather machine: Kara Sulia on what AI can (and can't) tell us about weather
    Dec 3 2025
    The longer version: For many people drawn to careers in atmospheric science, their curiosity is kindled by a formative weather event during their youth — a blizzard or flood that leaves such an impression that they spend their adult lives chasing the mysteries in the clouds and wind.But for Kara, it was as much about the math.“I knew I liked math. I knew I liked science. And I thought, ‘Meteorology seems cool,’” she reflected on her decision to pursue it as an undergraduate major. “I thought I was going to be a forecaster, but then I realized I didn’t like forecasting. But I always really liked the fundamental math, the calculus.”As she pursued her PhD in meteorology, Kara also quickly recognized the centrality of computer science to the work she hoped to do.“The coding and the computer programming was always my most favorite part of graduate school and anything I did in undergrad — writing software or writing programs. When I got my job here at UAlbany, I knew I wanted to spend more time learning the best ways to write code. I still understand the fundamental physics, but I also just loved the programming part of it. Because I wanted to do all those things and develop software and take all this interesting data and do something with it, I started taking computer science classes. This past May, I actually earned my bachelor’s degree in computer science from UAlbany and, right before our conversation, I just came from my first master's-level class. So I’ve really been developing a robust background in computer science and seeing how I can use computer science as a tool — and AI as a tool —to enhance my research and the research of those in my center. I really like the mixture of the two, and I also realize that a lot of my peers, especially when I was an undergrad, and now a lot of students, kind of struggle with the computer science component because it wasn’t built into the curriculum. We weren’t taught coding. But literally every single thing we do, every project we have — unless you’re out there counting raindrops on leaves — you are doing some level of computer programming. And it’s not just our field. It’s any scientific field or beyond.”Kara is uniquely suited to run ASRC’s AI/machine learning lab because she understands the fundamentals of both the atmospheric and computer science at work.“You don’t want the computer model making predictions that aren’t grounded in reality,” she said. “You want the actual predictions to be tied to the laws of physics.” Go deeper Learn more about Kara’s research interests and UAlbany's Atmospheric Sciences Research CenterGo inside UAlbany’s xCITE LabRead how Carly Sutter, a graduate student in Kara’s lab, used machine learning to analyze road conditions based on traffic camera imagesExplore ASRC’s history on top of Whiteface MountainAnd watch a daily time-lapse video from ASRC's perch on the roof of New YorkCampus news Dozens of UAlbany Researchers Among World’s Top 2% of ScientistsThe Princeton Review Names UAlbany to Mental Health Honor Roll for Second YearChemistry Professor Honored with Prestigious American Chemical Society AwardUpcoming events 12/9: Holiday Greeting Card Unveiling & Community Coffee Hour12/10:Build-a-Budget Workshop with Thrive UAlbany12/13: Women’s Basketball vs. Boston UniversityExplore everything happening on campus with the University at Albany Events CalendarEpisode credits Research and interview by Mike NolanHeadlines by Erin FrickAudio editing and production by Scott Freedman Photos by Patrick Dodson Written and hosted by Jordan Carleo-Evangelist The Short Version is produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing at the University at Albany, which is part of the State University of New York.Comments, ideas, suggestions? Send them to mediarelations@albany.edu and be sure to put The Short Version in the subject line.
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    14 mins
  • EXTRA SHORT: Taylor Philippi on working with actors to practice high-stakes conversations

    EXTRA SHORT: Taylor Philippi on working with actors to practice high-stakes conversations
    Nov 24 2025
    The longer version:

    When we spoke with Taylor, he had already completed his first field practicum, a core component of the Master of Social Work program, at the Pride Center of the Capital Region.

    The Albany-based non-profit is dedicated to serving the LGBTQ+ community, offering counseling, peer-led support groups and events. They also offer trainings, which became a focal point of Taylor's experience. This is what he said:

    “Part of my field practicum involved going into schools and delivering trainings to teachers, superintendents, school counselors — really anyone working in a school setting. These trainings focused on gender and sexuality and were designed to help them understand what their students might be experiencing and how they can create affirming, loving environments within their classroom for queer students. And it wasn’t just for students who identify as LGBTQ+, it was also about making learning equitable for all students. How do we meet everyone's social and emotional needs? I was formerly an educator, so getting to speak to my former colleagues was really enriching for me. I could see the lights go on in some of the teachers’ heads who want to help and want to serve but aren't necessarily sure how to support and affirm their queer students.”

    What is your top tip for educators seeking to make their classrooms more inclusive?

    “One of the simplest things I love to say is to have something in your classroom that signifies that you are an ally. That could be a pin, it could be a flag on your desk, it could be a magnet. It could be including your pronouns in your syllabus or putting your pronouns on the board or in an email signature. These sorts of visual cues are really helpful to students because then students can think, “Ok, I know this teacher is going to respect my pronouns or respect my preferred name,” or “I can talk to my teacher about my relationships, no matter what they look like.”

    Those visual cues are a really good starting point. It's very simple and you don't have to think about it every day. The item is just there, and it represents your willingness to learn, your willingness to listen, and your willingness to love them no matter who they are.”

    Go deeper

    Learn moreabout how the School of Social Welfare uses professional actors to help students prepare for client interactions.

    Watch a video featuring Taylor together with fellow advanced standing Master of Social Work student Gabriella Audino and Assistant Director of Field Education Monique Ivey.

    Discover UAlbany’s Master of Social Work program.

    Episode credits

    Interview by Erin Frick
    Audio editing and production by Scott Freedman
    Photo by Scott Freedman
    Written and hosted by Erin Frick

    The Short Version is produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing at the University at Albany, which is part of the State University of New York.

    Comments, ideas, suggestions?

    Send them to mediarelations@albany.edu and be sure to put The Short Version in the subject line.
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    7 mins
  • Bad chips: Sanjay Goel on the insidious threat of hardware trojans

    Bad chips: Sanjay Goel on the insidious threat of hardware trojans
    Nov 12 2025
    The longer version: In 2018, Bloomberg Businessweek published a stunning scoop [subscription required] alleging that server hardware designed and sold by the California company Supermicro to more than two-dozen major tech and government clients was compromised with malicious chips installed at the behest of Chinese intelligence. Those hardware trojans, the scoop alleged, gave China backdoor access to snoop — or worse — on what those networks were doing.The story was met with immediate, forceful denials from tech companies, including Supermicro and Amazon Web Services — with Apple CEO Tim Cook going so far as to call it “100 percent a lie.” U.S. and British intelligence said they saw no evidence to contradict the denials. Supermicro said a third-party investigation of its hardware found nothing suspicious.But Bloomberg stood by the story and followed up, three years later, with another report alleging that China’s targeting of Supermicro was known to U.S. defense and intelligence officials for a decade. We asked Sanjay for his take on the controversy and the fallout since — and whether there might be other explanations for what happened.Jordan: The Supermicro report was explosive, but the tech companies denied it — and western intelligence services said they had no reason to doubt the denials. What do you make of that? Sanjay: The allegation was that the trojans were not in the original design by Supermicro, but when the hardware was manufactured in China and came back, the hardware had those trojans on there. The denials could be for a variety of reasons. They could be for economic reasons —that they don’t want everybody to panic “Oh my god, all of our chips are tainted.” The second is there could be an error in the detection as well — whether or not the trojans were really present or they were a different artifact or natural defect in how the chips were manufactured. A lot of things could happen. Bloomberg stands by the report, even to today, and there were other rumors that these were actually present. But I’m not going to go against the tech companies or our own intelligence. If they say they did not exist, for whatever reason, I would want to believe that they did not exist.”Go deeper Learn more about Sanjay Goel's cyber defense expertise, including the prestigious NSA certification for the Massry School of Business' Digital Forensics program as a National Center of Academic Excellence. Sanjay also serves as research director at the UAlbany-based New York State Center for Information Forensics and Assurance.UAlbany's College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity was also recently designated a National Center of Excellence in Cyber Defense by the NSA. The College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering (CNSE), meanwhile, has deep expertise on microelectronics R&D and fabrication, including the capability to design and manufacture chips embedded with malicious trojan hardware for testing.Sanjay is working with colleagues in CNSE to develop a testbed that will enable researchers to fabricate and study malicious chips to make them easier to find. Campus news$50M Life Sciences Research Building Expansion to Boost RNA InstituteUAlbany to Purchase Former College of Saint Rose Residence HallUAlbany and Albany Med Health System to Launch B.S. in Nursing ProgramUpcoming events11/14: NYSWI's "Telling the Truth in a Post-Truth World"11/15: STEM & Nanotechnology Family Day at ETEC (sold out/waitlisted)11/15: Great Danes (football) vs. the Towson Tigers, 1 p.m. @ Casey StadiumExplore everything happening on campus with the University at Albany Events CalendarEpisode credits Audio editing and production by Scott FreedmanPhotos by Patrick DodsonWritten and hosted by Jordan Carleo-Evangelist The Short Version is produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing at the University at Albany, which is part of the State University of New York.Comments, ideas, suggestions? Send them to mediarelations@albany.edu and be sure to put The Short Version in the subject line.
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    11 mins
  • EXTRA SHORT: To infinity, and beyond, with Michael Yeung's spicy molecules

    EXTRA SHORT: To infinity, and beyond, with Michael Yeung's spicy molecules
    Nov 5 2025
    The longer version:

    We asked Michael Yeung about his favorite bits of boron lore. He did not disappoint.

    Even if the first one may be apocryphal, it would make a great techno spy thriller.

    "There was an old story that I heard about how we had a spy in the Soviet Union who was monitoring their rocket launches, and how they noticed that all the rocket plumes were green. The CIA immediately concluded that the Soviet Union was making boron-based missiles to hit the U.S. (boron is one of the few elements that burn green), and got a lot of labs in the U.S. to work on boron chemistry because we didn't want to be outranged in the Cold War. Turned out in the end that the fuel that the Soviet Union was using was just contaminated by the OTHER element than burns green (copper), and that was what made the rocket plumes look green. It was great for universities, though!"

    OK, but what does Chernobyl have to do with it?

    "The reason why boron chemistry exists today is because of nuclear power. The U.S. was building a bunch of nuclear reactors during the Cold War, and so we made A LOT of boron (it absorbs neutrons and is used as a control rod to prevent reactors from melting down, i.e. Chernobyl, where the boron control rods got stuck). Because we made so much boron during the Cold War, the U.S. decided to ship the excess boron to research labs to see if they could make anything useful out of it, which was another reason why boron chemistry was really popular in the '60s. We're trying to make it hot again."

    Go deeper

    Learn more about how Michael's research group is blending traditional and advanced computational chemistry to unlock the spiciest traits of boron compounds.

    Read their recent publication in the The Journal of the American Chemical Society.

    Visit Yeung Lab @ UAlbany

    Episode credits

    Research and interview by Erin Frick
    Audio editing and production by Scott Freedman & Brian Busher
    Photos by Brian Busher
    Written and hosted by Jordan Carleo-Evangelist

    The Short Version is produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing at the University at Albany, which is part of the State University of New York.

    Comments, ideas, suggestions?

    Send them to mediarelations@albany.edu and be sure to put The Short Version in the subject line.
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    5 mins
  • Inside Omar Yaghi's Nobel-winning chemical construction sites with Jeremy Feldblyum

    Inside Omar Yaghi's Nobel-winning chemical construction sites with Jeremy Feldblyum
    Nov 5 2025
    The longer version:

    Jeremy Feldblyum is not just an accomplished chemist and teacher; he holds a bachelor of music from the University of Maryland in piano performance. The intermingling of science and art — and the possibility of one inspiring the other — carries poetic potential too strong to ignore. So of course, we had to ask: Is tuning a MOF like tuning a piano?

    Here's what Jeremy said:

    "Many people ask if there’s a connection between my music and science, and I always have the disappointing answer that as far as I know, I have not found a relationship between the two. Even the music I listen to in my office is not piano music. That would be too distracting.

    When I studied piano during undergrad, I played at a level that made me happy — after much struggling and a lot of time in the practice room. That kind of work ethic and obsession that I actually first had in music, not so much in chemistry, helped me to shift gears when I got to graduate school. I knew I had to lay music aside — not completely — but that I had to let that go a little bit to give myself time and space for science, which I threw myself into wholeheartedly. And I would say that up to that point, my passion in music set my science back a little bit. I probably did not study chemistry quite so much as I should have as an undergraduate. But as a graduate student, I had the work ethic. I knew how to be obsessed with something, and I threw myself into chemistry feet first. By the end of graduate school, I was quite happy. I felt, finally I could do research successfully. And I didn’t have to be miserable while doing it, as many grad students are. So perhaps that work ethic is the closest relationship between them. But otherwise, music just makes me happy, and when I’m happy, I do my science well."

    And while chemistry might have the spotlight for the moment, Jeremy still finds time to play — even with his hands full.

    "I have two very young kids now, and so I'm learning some left-hand repertoire while I'm holding the baby in the other arm."

    Go deeper

    Learn more about the Feldblyum Group

    Read a MOF Nobel explainer with Jeremy

    Here from Omar Yaghi directly via the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

    Campus news
    • Seal of Excelencia reaffirms UAlbany's commitment to Latino and Latina student success
    • UAlbany hits high note with gift of music from Republic Records founders
    • RNA Institute shares $6.5M NIH award for Wellstone muscular dystrophy research center
    Upcoming events
    • 11/10: NANOvember: Neuroscience Nanotechnology with Janet Paluh
    • 11/10: Women's basketball vs. Dartmouth @ the Broadview Center
    • 11/11: 2025 CEHC LEGO Challenge

    Explore everything happening on campus with the University at Albany Events Calendar

    Episode credits

    Research and interview by Erin Frick
    Audio editing and production by Scott Freedman
    Photos by Patrick Dodson
    Written and hosted by Jordan Carleo-Evangelist

    The Short Version is produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing at the University at Albany, which is part of the State University of New York.

    Comments, ideas, suggestions?

    Send them to mediarelations@albany.edu and be sure to put The Short Version in the subject line.
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    10 mins