Further Together the ORAU Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Contact tracing and COVID-19: What it is and why it's important May 20, 2020

Show notes

As the nation and the world take steps to reopen for business after weeks of safer at home/stay at home practices, the subject of contact tracing is making headlines. What is contact tracing, how does it work, and why is it important? These questions and more are addressed by ORAU health communication and marketing team members. Freddy Gray, Julie Crumly, Rachel Vasconez and Jennifer Burnette join hosts Michael Holtz and Jenna Harpenau for this important and timely conversation.

Adventures in telework: ORAU employees share stories of working from home May 07, 2020

Show notes

ORAU employees have been teleworking for nearly two months because of the coronavirus pandemic. In this special episode of Further Together, some employees share how they've celebrated life's important milestones, taken up new hobbies and lessons learned about life with a commute from the bedroom to their in-home workspace. Health, joy, laughter, love and gratitude haven't stopped in a mostly closed world. Special thanks to the employees who shared their stories with us.

ORAU's research enterprise: Dr. Eric Abelquist shares an update Apr 29, 2020

Show notes

Dr. Eric Abelquist, executive vice president and chief research officer, discusses the importance of ORAU's research enterprise, including an explanation of how the ORAU-Directed Research and Development program works, and the organization's research priority areas. Conversations with Eric are always interesting and engaging, and this one is no different. Sit back and enjoy the conversation.

We're all in this together: how tabletop 3-D printers are being used to help medical personnel in our community Apr 15, 2020

Show notes

How can 3-D printers help medical personnel in our community who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic? Renee Powell, winner of the 2019 ORAU Extreme Classroom Makeover, and members of ORAU's K-12 STEM education team are using 3-D printers to produce personal protective equipment components, like N95 masks, ear guards for disposable masks and face shields. Powell and ORAU's Kayla Canario share what led to their decisions to offer help in this important way. Join hosts Michael Holtz and Jenna Harpenau for a fun and inspiring conversation.

Fake News: who is most vulnerable and how can we stop spreading it? Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

Cries of "fake news" seem to be everywhere these days, especially in the political world. Who is most vulnerable to believing and/or sharing misinformation or disinformation that has no verifiable facts, sources or quotes? And how can we keep ourselves from sharing information that isn't true. ORAU social scientist Tiffani Conner, Ph.D., who has worked with Penn State University on fake news research, discusses her work, and some of the steps we can all take before sharing something on social media that sounds too good to be true. While this conversation took place before the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, it's very relevant to the situation.

COVID-19 and ORAU's Pandemic Preparedness Capability Mar 16, 2020

Show notes

As news and events continue unfold around the spread of COVID-19, questions continue to arise about how the disease is spread and how to prepare for what the World Health Organization has called a global pandemic. Further Together podcast host Michael Holtz had a conversation about COVID-19 and ORAU's pandemic preparedness capability with Wade Williamson, BSN, ORAU occupational health nurse, Freddy Gray, MPH, MCHES, director of health communication and preparedness, and Julie Crumly, Ph.D., health and education program evaluator. From how to protect yourself to our involvement in preparing communities for pandemic response, this is a wide-ranging and very timely conversation.

What is the Joint Science and Technology Institute? Mar 02, 2020

Show notes

ORISE manages two two-week summer residential programs for students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and teachers who want to hone their STEM skills. JSTI APG will take place in Baltimore and JSTI ABQ will take place in Albuquerque. Students and teachers work side-by-side with researchers in academic or government research laboratory settings. Jennifer Tyrell and Kayla Canario of the ORISE K-12 team talk about everything students and teachers need to know about these programs. Applications are now open and the programs, including travel, are free.

Shedding light on foreign national stay rates Feb 19, 2020

Show notes

ORISE has been tracking stay rates for foreign nationals who come to the United States to earn doctoral degrees in science, engineering and other STEM-related fields since the 1970s. Why is this information important? What does it tell us about higher education in the United States? And what does the future look like for foreign nationals who come here to get their degrees? Leigh Ann Pennington and Mike Finn are experts at tracking this data, and explaining what it all means. Join us for an enlightening conversation.

Helping Paws Animal Network: ORAU employees assist animals in dire situations Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

Helping Paws Animal Network is a non-profit organization that supports area animal rescue organizations pay vet bills, meet food needs, get shelter and more for animal found in dire situations. This week, HPAN will celebrate raising more than a quarter million dollars and helping well over 1,000 animals throughout the region. in this episode, we talk to Amy Starkey, a founding board member and treasurer of HPAN, and Lisa Hill, owner of Senior Dog Lodge and Animal Rescue, which is located in Sunbright, Tennessee. Senior Dog Lodge is one of the many rescue groups in Anderson and surrounding counties that HPAN has assisted over the years. This is a doggone good episode!

Shaping the future of science through workforce development Jan 08, 2020

Show notes

Craig Layman, Ph.D., associate director of workforce development for ORISE, is openly passionate about scientific workforce development, the people who work at every level of his organization, and their impact on the scientific workforce. In this wide-ranging discussion, we discuss K-12 STEM education, research participation programs at the Department of Energy and other federal facilities, longitudinal research studies and so much more. Get ready for an insightful episode of the ORISE Featurecast, a special edition of the Further Together podcast.