Religious Freedom, Potato Eaters, BluRay Scanners

Religious Freedom, Potato Eaters, BluRay Scanners

Top of Mind with Julie Rose

  • Feb 14, 2017
  • 1:42:02 mins

Religious Freedom and Trump Guest: Elizabeth Clark, JD, Associate Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, BYU America’s 45th president – with his multiple marriages and provocative reality TV persona – is not an obvious choice to champion the priorities of religious conservatives. But on the campaign trail, Trump promised to nominate a Supreme Court justice “evangelicals will love” and he did that with Judge Neil Gorsuch, who is known for his views in support of religious groups and pro-life positions.  Having Fun on the Job Guest: Michael Tews, PhD, Professor of Hospitality Management, Pennsylvania State University Company picnics, March Madness brackets, birthday celebrations and Taco Tuesdays are all efforts to nurture comradery and boost employee morale. But fun at work might do even more than make workers feel better about their jobs – it may actually make them better at their job, too.  The Paperfuge Guest: Manu Prakash, PhD, Bioengineering Professor, Stanford University When doctors need to detect blood-borne diseases like malaria, HIV or tuberculosis, they spin the patient’s blood in a centrifuge to separate out the pathogens from the blood cells so they can see them under a microscope and identify them. A centrifuge is like a high-speed merry-go-round. They’re expensive and require electricity, and that’s a problem in developing countries where money and electricity are not always available in health clinics.  So a bioengineering professor and his students at Stanford University have invented a hand-powered centrifuge made of paper and string that costs 20-cents. The Potato Eaters Guest: Rebecca Campbell, MFA, Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual Arts, California State University, Fullerton A painting of a peasant family around a dimly-lit table eating their potato harvest is considered Vincent Van Gogh’s first masterpiece. And from that image, called “The Potato Eaters,” Utah native Rebecca Campbell drew the inspiration and title for a painting and sculpture exhibit about her own family’s heritage as Idaho potato farmers. Campbell’s images are brighter and more colorful than the Van Gogh painting, but they contemplate the same themes of hard work, family relationships and our connection to the land.  Parent Previews Guest: Rod Gustafson, ParentPreviews.com Lego Movie was hilarious – and a big hit with audiences. And the next installment – Lego Batman – is entertaining audiences equally well, based on its top spot at the box office over the weekend.  BluRay Scanner Guest: Troy Munro, PhD, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, BYU; Spencer Rogers, Associate Director, Technology Transfer Office, BYU Earlier in the show we heard about researchers at Stanford drawing inspiration from simple toys like the whirligig to make really low-cost science tools, such as a paper centrifuge for testing blood. So here’s another installment in the annals of do-it-yourself laboratory science.