The Difference You Make: College of Arts and Sciences’ New Podcast Makes Its Debut

Stony Brook University's College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) has debuted its new podcast, "The Difference You Make: The Ideas That Matter," hosted by Dean David Wrobel and featuring faculty in the CAS community who discuss their research, scholarship, and mentorship.

Guests will talk about how these ideas lend to the creation of new knowledge and understanding of the physical world and in the human condition, and applying it to make our communities stronger.

"I'm excited to launch 'The Difference You Make: The Ideas That Matter' podcast after months of planning and preparation, and couldn't be happier with the guidance, support and contributions my team has received along the way," said Wrobel. "The conversations have been excellent, and I cannot wait to share them with our community. It's another wonderful opportunity to celebrate the intellectual life of the College."

The podcast's inaugural episode on September 17 featured world-renowned experimental physicist, Nobel Laureate and President's Distinguished Endowed Chair in Physics Barry Barish, who explains how curiosity led him to pursue physics.

Barish discusses his work with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) that led to his joint receipt of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017 for contributions to the LIGO detector and observation of gravitational waves. The episode debuted just days after 10th anniversary of the first detection of gravitational waves.

Barish also tells of the mentorship he received from another Nobel Laureate as he was pursuing his undergraduate degree, as well as his groundbreaking research on sub-atomic particles that have led to his extraordinary achievements in the world of physics, including the prestigious National Medal of Science, one of the highest honors in the scientific community. A strong supporter of public higher education, Barish remains dedicated to teaching and education, and continues to mentor both graduate and undergraduate students at Stony Brook.

The second episode dropped on September 24 and features Alfredo Fontanini, professor and chair in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior. Fontanini discusses how he came to study taste - a sense that is intimately related to emotions - mostly as a coincidence.

Fontanini, a 2010 recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), discusses his research that focuses on the neuroscience of taste by studying regions of the brain that are involved in the processing and perception of taste and emotions. He shares how, in a way, taste was a bit in his destiny, and how his odd taste for food has always been an intrinsic part of him. He also discusses the special relationship between taste and olfaction that makes things even more interesting.

You can hear the podcast on Spotify and on the College of Arts and Sciences YouTube channel. New episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays.