033 - NatSci News Rewind March 2022 Transcript

You're listening to NatSci News Rewind a podcast that looks back at the monthly news headlines in the world of NatSci. And starting this month, we are changing things up by counting down the top 5 news stories for the month. In this episode, we will be taking a look back at March 2022.

Number 5:
Cyanobacteria balancing act insight paves way for biotechnology application advances
A new study from the Michigan State University-DOE Plant Research Laboratory brings fresh insight on the source/sink balance of cyanobacteria and paves the way for further advancements in photosynthetic microbes for potential applications. The research, conducted in the lab of biochemist Danny Ducat, was recently published in Plant Physiology.

Number 4: 
Jonas Becker, Tyler Cocker honored as Jerry Cowen Endowed Chairs of Experimental Physics 
Michigan State University Assistant Professors Jonas Becker and Tyler Cocker were each honored as a Jerry Cowen Chair of Experimental Physics in the College of Natural Science’s Department of Physics and Astronomy at an investiture ceremony held March 24 in the Christman and Jackson Lounges of MSU’s Wharton Center.

Number 3:
MSU College of Natural Science awarded four inaugural 1855 Professorships
The Michigan State University College of Natural Science (NatSci) will soon welcome four new faculty members as part of MSU’s inaugural 1855 Professorship Initiative, launched by the Office of the Provost. The 1855 Professorship investments in NatSci will be in the areas of data science, quantum computing and plant sciences, which are rapidly developing areas where diverse excellence is required to address a wide range of challenges evident in existing and emerging technologies and communities. NatSci’s positions are among 13 selected for funding across the university.

Number 2: 
A hair-raising discovery: Stephen Hawking's black hole paradox solved
An international quartet of physicists, including Michigan State University Professor Stephen Hsu, have co-authored two papers that significantly alter our understanding of black holes and resolve a problem that has confounded scientists for nearly half a century. Their research was recently published in the journals Physical Review Letters and Physics Letters B.

Number 1: 
MSU's Elias Aydi awarded prestigious NASA Hubble Fellowship
Elias Aydi, a postdoc in Michigan State University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy is one of a select group of 24 young scientists internationally who were awarded a prestigious 2022 NASA Hubble Fellowship. As a Hubble Fellow, Aydi plans to combine multi-wavelength observations from diverse NASA space-based facilities, several ground-based observatories, and 3D radiation-hydro simulations to decipher shocks in novae and work on solving several long-standing puzzles in high-energy astrophysics.

And that will wrap up the rewind for the month of March 2022. To read more about these stories, head on over to our website at natsci.msu.edu/news. You can also stay up to date by following us on social. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @msunatsci. Thanks for tuning in and be sure to check us out next month.