Ep. 97 - The Future of Materials Science with Drew Schaller

Discovering new materials 🔬

In this episode, Mattimore sits down with materials scientist, Drew Schaller, to explore how humanity might leverage new materials to extend the human lifespan, improve quality of life, preserve Earth's environment and raw materials, and live among the stars 💫

Broad Topics:

• What is materials science?
• What do materials scientists do?
• What role has materials science played throughout history: from stone age to bronze age, iron age, steel age, silicon age, and... graphene age?
• How will materials used in medicine change in the future?
• How will materials used in warfare change in the future?
• How will materials used in computing change in the future?
• What is the process for discovering and creating new materials?
• How do different materials, given that all materials are made of atoms, exhibit such a vast array of different properties and behaviors? • Which new materials are most exciting to materials scientists right now?
• What sort of new materials might be discovered or created in the future?
• What is materials informatics, and how is it used to create the future?
• What does psychophysics say about our relationship with materials?
• Which materials are most valued, most needed, and in limited supply?

Rapid Fire Questions:

• What, in your view, is the single biggest threat to human civilization?
• Will machines become smarter than the average person (AGI) by 2050?
• Will consciousness emerge in machines once AGI is achieved?
• Do you support Universal Basic Income to solve mass unemployability?
• Any thoughts on the current George Floyd protests and police brutality?
• Is academia broken? What might be a better system to foster innovation?
• Which breakthrough would you be most excited for humanity to achieve?
• How, why, and when does consciousness arise in material structures?

Future Scenarios:

• Worst Case Scenario
• Best Case Scenario
• Most Likely Scenario

Thanks for tuning in 🔭

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