By Elisabeth Lee When you enter any field as a professional, the doubt and discouragement from others is inevitable. Whether it comes from friends, critics, or colleagues, the dissuasion can be difficult to endure. Dr. Rakesh Mogul, however, has proven to be a successful professor and researcher at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona despite the naysayers he encountered throughout his career. Today, Mogul has been interviewed on German Public Radio, has had articles written about him in Forbes and […]

By Anurup Mohanty Mining projects often require a lot of equipment, capital, and work-force. When we mine using conventional methods there can be a number of environmental concerns associated with it. Soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, formation of sink-holes, contamination of surface and groundwater are just to name a few. Moreover, mining poses threat to miners’ health, the tiny particles inside a mine can cause severe respiratory diseases.  Biomining is a method that employs microorganisms to extract metals from ores. […]

By Aditi Sharma From the climate crisis to the current global pandemic, our Earth faces significant threats. This has led many people to criticize space exploration, emphasizing instead that before looking to the stars we should focus on the issues on the planet we live on. It seems that many believe investing in space signifies a severe lack of commitment to improving the Earth. However, such an argument fails to address how space exploration has already benefited modern society and […]

Dr. Rika Anderson specializes in questions concerning the evolution of microbial life with its environment. She is currently an assistant professor at Carleton College in the Biology department, but her lab collaborates with scientists across disciplines to connect biology with astronomy, geology, oceanography, and atmospheric sciences. Her current lab uses bioinformatic techniques to look at microbial and viral evolution in hydrothermal vent environments, investigating how these microbial species arise, spread, and adapt to new environments by looking at their genetic […]