Tech Nation with Moira Gunn
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Dr. Moira Gunn is the host of Public Radio's Tech
Nation, where she has conducted over 2,000 interviews with space pioneers
and cyber-novelists, venture capitalists and genetics researchers, teachers
and technophobes. A former NASA scientist and engineer, Dr. Gunn is a
Member of the Board of Directors of the Tech Museum of Innovation and
the Tech Awards' Global Leadership Council, and has served as a member
of the Awards Selection Committee for the Space Technology Hall of Fame.
The first woman to earn a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue
University, she also holds advanced degrees in Computer Science and a
software technical patent. Dr. Gunn is regularly asked to speak on the
Impact of Technology on Society, on the Current and Projected State of
Global Technology Penetration, and on her experience as a Woman in Technology,
Science and Engineering.
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Moira talks to author David Helvarg about his book, Rescue Warriors: The U.S. Coast Guard, America's Forgotten Heroes. He tells the story of the Coast Guard and how their missions range from saving fishermen in the icy waters off Alaska to rescuing thousands in the wake of Katrina.
Dr. Moira Gunn talks to JJ Bienaime, President & CEO of BioMarin Pharmaceuticals about the problem of orphan diseases, diseases not yet under research by pharmaceutical companies because of a lack of financial incentive to market new medications for treatment.
Paul Hastings, president and CEO of Oncomed Pharmaceuticals, discusses the controversial topic of cancer stem cells, what he calls the root of the tumor. He also talks about how his company is working with other pharmaceutical companies who are helping with Oncomed's biotech work.
Moira speaks with Fresh Air commentator and linguist Geoff Nunberg, who discusses his book The Years of Talking Dangerously and assesses the impact of words in a dynamic, changing world. In the book, he explains why grammar buffs are drawn to sarcasm, and deftly unpacks the telling phrases of our national conversation, from progressive to elite to change, as well as the national conversation itself.
Moira speaks with former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler about his book The End of Overeating, in which he discusses what has been invisibly added to the American supply, leaving some of us obese, and many of us, unexpectedly overweight. He tells us the science behind what happens to our brains when we eat food laden with salt, fat and sugar.
Moira interviews Matt Gardner, President & CEO, BayBIO, the Northern California Life Sciences Organization, about the organization's the new free online Impact 2009 Report about all the biotech companies in California and everything they are working on.
Moira speaks with Rory Cooper and Oz Osborn about quality of life technology. The Quality of Life Technology (QoLT) Center is a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center (ERC) who's mission is to transform lives in a large and growing segment of the population, people with reduced functional capabilities due to aging or disability.
Moira speaks with UCLA psychiatrist Dr. Judith Orloff about the psychology and biology of our emotions. Orloff discusses her book Emotional Freedom, a road map for those who are stressed out, discouraged, or overwhelmed as well as for those who are in a good emotional place but want to feel even better.
Moira speaks with a panel of nationally-recognized engineering deans and professors, eliciting big ideas to meet the National Academy of Engineering's grand challenges.
Dr. Moira Gunn interviews Craig Wheeler, CEO of Moementa Pharmaceuticals, who discusses biologics and the new biosimilars bill in Congress.