Episode 11: The Ultimate Construction Material

A great empire demands an equally great building material. In this episode, we cover the development and implementation of concrete throughout human history. We are joined by Marie Jackson, a research associate professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Utah, and an expert on Roman concrete. She explains how Romans were able to develop concrete and why Roman concrete is able to endure for thousands of years. Finally, we cover some new and exciting concrete technologies that are being developed.

If you want to learn even more, consider reading Marie's blog about making Roman concrete from minerals found the Surtsey volcano: https://surtsey50years.utah.edu/. Also consider reading her article on what makes Roman concrete so special: https://ceramics.org/ceramic-tech-today/what-can-ancient-roman-structures-tell-us-about-improving-durability-for-cementitious-materials-this-and-much-more-inside-june-july-2018-acers-bulletin

If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com. Make sure to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Spotify, google play or wherever you find your podcasts. If you like the show and want to help us reach more people, consider leaving a review - it helps us improve and it exposes new people to the show. Finally, check out our Instagram page @materialism.podcast and connect with us to let us know what new material you’d like to hear about next. We’d like to give a shoutout to AlphaBot for allowing us to use his music within the podcast. Check him out on Spotify. And as always a special thanks to Kolobyte who created the intro and outro for our podcast. He makes a ton of really cool synthwave music which you can check out at kolobyte.bandcamp.com.

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Om Podcasten

In this podcast, Taylor and Andrew investigate the past, present, and future of materials science and engineering. Topic areas ranging from cutting edge materials technology, the history of different materials, the commercialization of new materials, and exciting advances in processing and characterization are all covered in detail. Our episodes include things like the unlikely discovery of superglue or teflon, the fascinating backstories about modern biomaterials like dialysis filters, and updates on new technologies including wearable electronics, next generation batteries, and nanomaterials. In short, we hope to help listeners understand the critical role that materials have played in society and even glimpse into what the future may hold for new materials.