Sometimes nanotechnology sounds like science-fiction before it becomes science-fact. In this episode, Julia Kalow, a Northwestern University chemist, who is also trained in creative writing, helps us explore the overlap between fiction and fact in nanotechnology and the importance of creativity in scientific problem-solving.

Guest: Julia Kalow, Dow Chemical Company Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University

Hosts: Seth Zimmerman, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications, IIN and Erin Spain, MS, Podcaster and Science Communicator

What if the next industrial revolution is happening molecule-by-molecule? In this episode we explore this idea with Robert Macfarlane, PhD, a Northwestern alumni and MIT materials scientist who is pioneering programmable materials that self-assemble and respond to their environment. Macfarlane explains how his work moves beyond DNA-based assembly to create scalable nanomaterials with real-world potential—from flexible electronics and biomedical devices to photonic materials that manipulate light.

Guest: Robert J. Macfarlane, Richard P. Simmons (1953) Professor in Metallurgy, Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

Hosts: Seth Zimmerman, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications, IIN and Erin Spain, MS, Podcaster and Science Communicator

Dr. Ludmilla Aristilde is an expert in environmental chemistry, environmental biochemistry, and bioengineering, but at the heart of it all is nanoscience. In this episode of Nanoscape Atistilde talks about her research, which includes discoveries in microplastics and nanoplastics and why nanoscience plays a key role in her research group's activities which aims to gain a fundamental understanding of the "why" and "how" of the environmental behavior of organics, with implications for nutrient cycling, ecosystem health, agricultural productivity, and environmental biotechnology.

Guest: Ludmilla Aristilde, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University

Hosts: Seth Zimmerman, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications, IIN and Erin Spain, MS, Podcaster and Science Communicat