The Univi Podcast

Martin Dougiamas is the founder and lead developer of the Open Source Learning Management System Moodle which exceeds one hundred million users globally, and in every country on the planet. If you have studied or worked in an Academic institution in the past two decades, there is a good chance your online frame work ran off the Moodle Management System. Martin was raised in the remote corner of Western Australian outback and was educated in School of Air. Martin is a passionate advocate of...

Craig P. Bauer is an associate professor of mathematics at York College of Pennsylvania and the editor-in-chief of Cryptologia. He was the 2011-2012 Scholar-in-Residence at the National Security Agency (NSA) Center for Cryptologic History, where he wrote several papers for NSA journals, gave numerous lectures, and made substantial progress on a second book focused on unsolved codes and ciphers. He earned a PhD in mathematics at North Carolina State University Craig is the author of...

Robert D. Martin - a British-born biological anthropologist who is currently an Emeritus Curator at The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois. He is also an adjunct professor at University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and University of Illinois Chicago. His research spans the fields of anthropology, evolutionary biology and human reproductive biology. Martin's research uses a wide range of approaches to identify reliable general principles in human evolution. In order...

Ever wondered about those mysterious creatures of the deep?! Dr. Sutton’s research focuses on the ecology of marine systems, particularly those of the open ocean , with emphasis on the fauna and ecology of the deep-pelagic zone by combining observational, organismal and theoretical approaches to help understand Earth’s largest, but least known ecosystems. In Part A we discuss the mysterious catches from a Russian Deep Sea Fisherman - you can find the article below to follow along with the...

Dr. John Hutchinson, Evolutionary Biomechanist Dinosaur locomotion utilises the fragments of paleontological finds to piece together the mysteries of movement taken by these gigantic lizards. Professor John Hutchinson is a leading expert in the biomechanics and locomotion of large terrestrial creatures. John regularly participates in science communication events worldwide, both in person and via the internet. His research has been featured in over 500 online/print news stories since...

Dead men tell no tales. But the bugs infesting their corpses sure do. Dr. Paola Magni is a forensic biolost specialising in the application of natural sciences, such as entomology, to crime scene investigations. Educated at the University of Turin in Italy, Dr Magni has worked in a court-of-law and has been instrumental solving keynote cases using her techniques and on television in the Italian crime drama R.I.S. Dr. Magni has also developed an app called Smart Insects for assisting Crime...

Space.. the final frontier - and odds are home to fellow intelligent lifeforms. Dr. Seth Shostak is the Director of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, an exploratory science institute that seeks evidence of life in the universe.

Rhodri Jeffries-Jones is the Professor Emeritus of American History at the University of Edinburgh and has made a career delving into the history of espionage and secret intelligence agencies around the world. He took his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge and has been a postdoctoral fellow and visiting professor at the Harvard and the University of Toronto. Rhodri is the author of more than a dozen books; American Espionage: From Secret Service to CIA, In Spies We Trust and most...

Considering we spend 33% of our lives asleep we know very little about sleep or dreaming from a science perspective. Dr. Michael Schredl from the University of Mannheim, Germany has published over 70 articles and authored 3 books on dream research and is considered one of the world's foremost expert on dream research. His work explores areas such as: continuity between waking and dream, creativity and dreaming, memory consolidation during sleep, treatment of nightmares and is considered one...

Ancient DNA could provide the clues to terrestrial pathways of evolution. In this episode Professor Alex Greenwood discusses the latest pieces of the large genetic puzzle

The polar bear, king of the Arctic, is one of the world's most recognizable animals. Images of the majestic beasts roaming across the ice cap, plunging into frigid waters, and playing with furry cubs have come to symbolize the beauty and grandeur of the Arctic. .Through informative and engaging language, Derocher carefully explains the sea ice ecosystem that is essential to the survival of polar bears. He addresses the threat of global warming to the Arctic-home to polar bears for tens of...

Dr. David Atheide is an author and sociologist, Emeritus Professor at Arizona State University. He deals with a variety of issues, however has recently turned his attention to fear and the media, more appropriately how media can use fear to manipulate a population and sell products or services.

Patrick Dixon is the researcher and author of the paper 'The Differenting Personal and Tactical Dimensions of Head Coaches in the NFL: Why is Bill Belichick Successful when others are not? Belichick is of course the coach of the New England Patriots – an American football team that seems to have conquered the System of American Football – loved or despised the fact of the matter is Belichick has the most Super Bowl wins of all time. So for this episode deep dive into American Football, or...

Paleoanthropologist Rick Potts heads the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program and holds the Peter Buck Chair in Human Origins at the National Museum of Natural History. Since joining the Smithsonian in 1985, Rick has dedicated his research to piecing together the record of Earth’s environmental change and human adaptation. His ideas on how human evolution responded to environmental instability have stimulated wide attention and new research in several scientific fields. Rick has developed...

Dr Baer is the Director of the Centre for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER) at the University of Western Australia. CIBER is the first large-scale organisation focused on honey bee research in Australia. It conducts research into an array of bee-related issues, including honey bee reproduction, immunity, ecology and how best to protect bees from future decline. http://www.ciber.science.uwa.edu.au/

The Tasmanian Devil -A rare creature with a mytically ferocious temper made famous through the animated series Looney Tunes that is unfortunately under threat from a rare type of cancer eating through the tiny and remote population still in existence. Dr. Rodrigo Hamede is a Wildlife Ecologist specializing in Infections Diseases who is tackling this form of virilant cancer known as Devil Facial Tumor Disease http://www.utas.edu.au/profiles/staff/zoology/rodrigo-hamede

Ever wondered about those mysterious creatures of the deep?! Dr. Tracey Sutton from Nova Southeastern University's research focuses on the ecology of marine systems, particularly those of the open ocean , with emphasis on the fauna and ecology of the deep-pelagic zone by combining observational, organismal and theoretical approaches to help understand Earth’s largest, but least known ecosystems.