Manu Prakash (Part 1): Frugal Science, for Love of the Mundane, and 1 Million Foldscopes (and Counting)

Frugal science and the Foldscope microscope are among the topics we discuss with Manu Prakash, in part 1 of our multiweek conversation with the Unilever Colworth Prize recipient and MacArthur Fellow, who joins us from Stanford University. Prakash recounts the road to putting high-level microscopes in the hands of more than 1 million users around the world, as well as his earliest scientific memories. We also explore science’s role in our current global pandemic situation and how a problem-solving mentality extends beyond the laboratory. Season 2, Episode 2, concludes with a look at how a most unusual material spins a stronger optical lens.Sponsored by:COMSOL - www.comsol.comMKS Instruments - www.newport.comAll Things Photonics is produced by Photonics Media and airs bi-weekly on Tuesdays. Find links to the stories mentioned in the episode on our website, www.photonics.com/podcast.

Om Podcasten

From space exploration and quantum optics, to biomedical imaging and defense, today’s top scientific minds are using lasers, spectroscopy, sensors, and optics to deliver cutting-edge innovation to our society. In intimate conversations with those pushing the boundaries of human knowledge, “All Things Photonics” spotlights photonics industry progress from beyond the lab. Hear how 3D printed microscopes — and those developed for a fraction of the cost — offer our best hope for diagnosing disease in the developing world; why spectroscopy might be the most valuable tool in the crime scene technicians’ arsenal; how light can motorize drug delivery; and how the quantum cascade laser, CMOS image sensor, and robot-assisted surgery became realities. Notable guests include Nobel Prize winner Donna Strickland; Columbia University Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering Michal Lipson; inventor of the CMOS image sensor Eric Fossum; serial entrepreneur Jason Eichenholz; co-namesake of the Hockney Falco Thesis Charles Falco; and SPIE President and founder of the Vanderbilt Biophotonics Center Anita Mahadevan-Jansen. “All Things Photonics”® is produced by Photonics Media and airs biweekly, on Tuesdays. The podcast was a shortlisted finalist in two categories — Best Science & Medical Podcast and Best Technology Podcast — for The Publishers Podcast Awards in 2021. It has again earned shortlist honors in the Best Science and Medical Podcast category for 2022. Contact us at Allthings@photonics.com.