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Topology offers a way to organize complex data by looking for shape, structure, and relationships. Yusu Wang, Ph.D., UC San Diego, and Gunnar E. Carlsson, Ph.D., Stanford University, discuss how ideas from algebraic topology move from pure mathematics into data science, machine learning, and AI. Carlsson explains why topological data analysis helps identify meaningful groups in large data sets,…
Archaeology can help communities understand environmental change, protect cultural heritage, and prepare for an uncertain climate future. Isabel C. Rivera-Collazo, Ph.D., of UC San Diego studies relationships among people, oceans, coastal ecosystems, and climate in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. She explains how Hurricane Maria shifted her research from identifying theoretical vulnerabilities to…
Authentic autism representation begins with listening to autistic people and including them in stories about their lives. Seth Bakke, producer, writer and director of The Rescue, explains how his autistic cousin Aaron and a poem by autistic typer Peter Tran inspired the film. Bakke describes working with Aaron on screen, consulting the Tran family and adapting the set to support his needs.…
Scientific progress depends on curiosity, investment and the freedom to take risks. Nobel Laureate and UC San Diego alumnus Fred Ramsdell traces his path from community college to biotechnology and a discovery that reshaped understanding of immune regulation. He explains how decades of publicly funded research made that breakthrough possible and why failed experiments are essential steps toward…
With the success of Artemis II, NASA is preparing for humanity’s return to the Moon through the ambitious Artemis Project. In this lecture, Professor Neil Farber explores the future Artemis missions, the spacecraft and technologies designed to support them, and the challenges NASA faces in sending astronauts back to the lunar surface. Building on the legacy of the Apollo program, Artemis…
Human brain organoids help researchers study neurodevelopmental disorders that are difficult to examine directly in developing brain tissue. Giorgia Quadrato, USC, uses cortical organoids derived from human pluripotent stem cells to examine SYNGAP1, an autism risk gene associated in the transcript with intellectual disability, epilepsy, and global developmental delay. Quadrato describes how…
As chatbots trained on Large Language Models become more sophisticated, their responses can sometimes seem uncanny, as if they come from a source that is mysterious, inexplicable, or even divine. Webb Keane, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, examines what happens when people treat artificial intelligence as a kind of “metahuman.” He explains how this reflects a broader human…
Hard optimization problems often look impossible through worst-case analysis, but real-world problems can contain structure that helps algorithms work faster. Ellen Vitercik, Ph.D., of Stanford University explains how machine learning can improve algorithm design for NP-hard optimization problems while preserving the formal guarantees that make solvers useful. She discusses beyond worst-case…
Heart regeneration faces two connected challenges: replacing lost muscle and keeping transplanted cells safe and accepted by the body. Charles Murry, M.D., Ph.D., of USC explains why the adult heart heals major cardiomyocyte loss with scar tissue rather than new muscle, leading to progressive heart failure. Murry describes how stem cell derived cardiomyocytes can be manufactured at scale,…
Hematopoietic stem cells make blood across the lifespan, but they do not all behave the same way. Stephanie Xie, Ph.D., Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, examines how these rare cells self-renew, differentiate, and respond to inflammatory stress, asking whether differences in the stem cell pool help explain why aging affects people so differently. Xie identifies…
