In our last episode of Season 1 on the Future of Food & Beverage, the podcast team sits down with Dan Fucich & Kelsey Abernathy, co-founders of AlgenAir. As the 21st Century food and beverage disruption are underway, we look at how there are other use cases for plants and microbes outside of food consumption. With the use of algae, AlgenAir’s Aerium product removes carbon dioxide and produces oxygen as effectively as 25 house plants for a fraction of the cost, time, and space!! Tune...

Although not commonly thought of, technological advancements in farming have led to the most dramatic socio-economic shifts. From the plow to the combine, efficiency in farming has increased productivity and produced greater yields. These seemingly minor technological inventions led to mass urban migrations and population booms as people searched for new occupations and fed more mouths. Now we have entered the 21st Century….but how is technology continuing to be implemented in outdoor...

The agriculture industry has come a long way from manned equipment fertilizing and harvesting fields of crops to robots analyzing the needs and delivering precise amounts of nutrients in a controlled environment. On today’s episode, we sit down with Andrew Blume, Strategic Sales Manager at Iron Ox, to discuss controlled environment agriculture and the innovative technologies Iron Ox implements to reduce waste and grow produce more sustainably, using “vastly less energy and less water on...

Have you ever wondered how your food gets from the farm to table…..we have! To better understand the supply chain and logistics process, the podcast team sits down with Mike Beveridge, who is a Senior Associate Merchant of Meat & Poultry at FreshDirect. Located in the Bronx, New York, FreshDirect has been perfecting their online grocery delivery business for over 20 years and delivers over 100,000 orders a week!! Tune in to learn:* What is the business model of FreshDirect and how do you...

It may seem like something out of Jimmy Neutron or some sci-fi movie, but the cell-based protein market is starting to plant some serious roots….or should I say propagate cells. The podcast team sits down with Aryé Elfenbein, who is the Co-founder of Wildtype, which is one of the emerging cell-based protein alternative manufacturers. Tune in to learn:* Who is Wildtype and what type of protein alternatives do they make?* What exactly is cell-based protein and what does the cultivation process...

5 years ago, most vegetarians wouldn’t touch a plant-based alternative if they saw it on the menu or in the store. Now, the proliferation of high-quality plant-based alternatives can be seen in almost 50% of households. What changed and why is the plant-based alternative space here to stay?? The podcast team sits down with Paul Shapiro, who is the CEO and Co-founder of Better Meat Co. as well as Ted Talk alum and author of “Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize...

Technology and innovation is rapidly being adopted in all facets our lives….but how is it being adopted in the food and beverage space? How is STEM enabling us to feed the ever growing world population? As we kick off the podcast’s new season, Ryan sits down with NextGen Ag’s Managing Director Kim Lovan & Process Engineer Bailey Stults to learn more. Who else is hungry?? Tune in to learn:·         Who is NextGen Ag?·         How is Black & Veatch’s NextGen Ag enabling food &...

Have you ever wondered how infrastructure tunnels are constructed or if they are being constructed underneath you as we speak? Us co-hosts have. Listen in as we sit down with Black & Veatch’s, Clint Wilson. Tune in to hear: How are large tunnels constructed and how much do they cost? What do you have to consider when excavating a tunnel in an urban area? What markets rely on tunneling? What does the future of tunneling look like? All this and more, on Generation STEM! Want to see more...

Cryptocurrency, NFTs…..digital assets have become a huge trend in the financial world the past couple of years and the GenSTEM squad has been wondering….how do they work? What’s the science behind it? How are these encrypted assets made? Enter BLOCKCHAIN. On this episode, Ryan and Kevin chat with a leading entrepreneur in the blockchain space, Shekhar Gupta. Tune in to learn: What is blockchain? How does it work? How does this apply to Crypto and NFTs? What problems does it solve? How is...

The new administration has made it clear that offshore wind energy is going to be a focus for their renewable growth and goal to decarbonize our power supply. Class is in session as we sit down with Black & Veatch’s Vice President of Power, Jim Juras. Tune in to hear: How does offshore wind differ from onshore wind? What are the technological differences? What are some permitting & construction considerations to offshore wind? What is the current state of offshore wind in the United...

Our world has become more and more digital, and with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has kicked the world's transition to a completely digital world into hyperdrive. It got the squad thinking, how is the infrastructure changing to support our data driven and digitized lifestyles? Here's a clue: DATA CENTERS. Enter our guest for this week, Drew Thompson, AVP of Data Centers and Critical Infrastructure at Black & Veatch. Tune in to hear: * what are data centers? * how to they relate to the...

On this episode, Ryan takes us into a solo interview with our special guest in light of the recent Suez Canal blockage incident, where a cargo ship ended up sideways blocking the canal and disrupting global supply chain. He sits down with Joseph Schwarzstein - Maritime Consultant, First Class Pilot and Commander in the US Navy Reserve to discuss the Suez Canal event, and the world of piloting cargo ships. Tune in to hear: * The basics of piloting cargo ships * How canals work and how cargo...

Becca, Kevin and Ryan are ringing in their 5+6 year anniversaries of having adult STEM jobs. On this week's episode of GenSTEM, the squad gets together to talk about their career experiences so far. Tune in to hear: * What Becca, Kevin, and Ryan's career path has been like thus far in the STEM industry * How their upbringing and college experiences affected their career path * What they expected being an engineer would be like versus reality * How has their career path expectations changed...

One of the biggest cold weather events in history hit Texas in February, that caused 4.5 million Texans without power for days. On this week's episode, Becca and Kevin interview one of their fellow Black & Veatcher and Managing Director of our Global Distributed Energy business, Rob Wilhite where he breaks down what really happened in Texas that caused massive (electrical) black outs. Tune in to learn: * Basics on how the power grid works * Who the heck ERCOT is and why is their name...

Bring the beat back! On this week's episode, Ryan and Kevin chat with producer, writer, rapper, and sustainable energy advocate AY Young! Tune in to hear: * AY's music career * His views on electricity access and sustainability * How he uses music and dance as a way to bring people together with is mission for energy sustainability * AY's Battery Tour and how it's providing electricity to those in need All this and more, on Generation STEM! Want to see more from the Generation STEM team?...

We're back this week with another episode of GenSTEM and we're delivering to your ear holes one of our BIGGEST. INTERVIEWS. YET. We got together with (the now) CEO of Virgin Hyperloop, Josh Giegel. Yeah, you read that right. CEO of Virgin Hyperloop is on the pod. Tune in to hear: * What is Virgin Hyperloop? * How did Josh get involved with the company? * Was he one of the first human riders on a hyperloop test track? * How will this technology transform the future of transportation? * What...

If you've tuned in to our recent episodes, you've heard the GenSTEM squad buzz about something big coming to the utility sector: HYDROGEN. Kevin, Becca, and Ryan had the opportunity to sit down with fellow Black & Veatch'er and Hydrogen subject matter specialist Jonathan Cristiani to talk about how hydrogen could change the future. Tune in to hear: -What even is hydrogen (besides something on the periodic table) and what is it used for?-How is hydrogen produced-How it's used for...

New year, new episode!!! On this episode, the clairvoyant GenSTEM squad looks into their crystal balls to make the their predictions on the biggest STEM trends in 2021. Tune in to hear Kevin, Ryan, and Becca: -announce the winners based on YOUR votes for the semi-STEMy awards (followed but a lot of trash talking by Becca) -dive in to their biggest predictions for transportation, space, AI, health, energy, and consumer products for 2021 Do you agree with their predictions?? Tune in to find...

We are back with a new episode with some BIG 2021 energy. On this episode, Kevin, Becca & Ryan interview Steph Stoppenhagen of Black & Veatch's Connected Communities + Telecom business to learn all about a new luxury entertainment smart city development in Las Vegas called Bleutech Park. Tune in to hear: -What the heck is Bleutech Park?-How Bleutech Park integrates Smart City technology-Is this the prototype for the world's future of metropolitan cities?-What makes it the next luxury...

It's the GenSTEM squad back at it again!!!! We're excited to bring back an annual tradition REVAMPED.....The SEMI STEMy AWARDS: a year in review of the biggest and most innovative news in STEM in 2020. Tune in to hear Kevin, Ryan and Becca each give their SEMI STEMy nominees for ___ STEM award categories: * Transportation * Space * Energy * Health * Consumer Products Listen in to give us your choice for the SEMI STEMy award winner for each category! All this and more, on Generation...

We're back with another stellar episode of Generation STEM Podcast! On this episode, Becca, Ryan and Kevin, had the opportunity to interview Jagmeet Khangura and Jason Haney of Black & Veatch's Growth Accelerator to talk about a wild new trend in real estate and infrastructure: FLOATING HOUSING. Tune in to learn: -what even is floating infrastucture?-how is it built?-where is it being built now? Where will it be built in the future?-what problems will floating house and infrastructure...

The GenSTEM is here with a new ~~~~fire flame~~~ episode this week! On this episode, Becca, Ryan and Becca, in the wake of wild land fires burning across the western half of the US, sit down with down with pyrogeographer, SDSU PhD candidate, and self proclaimed "Fire Nerd" to discuss everything wild fire and how she's leveraging technology to prevent them. Let us tell you, THIS GIRL IS ON FIRE!!!! Tune in to learn: -what causes wild fires-how do wild fires spread-are wildfires really more...

The GenSTEM team is on fire with back to back weeks of episodes! On this episode, Kevin and Ryan had the opportunity to chat with the Executive Director of the National Society of Black Engineers, Karl Reid. Tune in to hear: -Karl's personal experience as a black man in the STEM world-his personal experiences that drove him to become involved with NSBE-The mission of the National Society of Black Engineers-how NSBE champions minorities in engineering-how the BLM movement has affected and...

After a ~~~little~~~ break, the GenSTEM team is back and ready to discuss the season.....the Career Fair Season!! We're revisiting one of the first topics we ever discussed on the OG podcasts: navigating the career fair and job hunt process. Tune in to hear: -Becca, Kevin, and Ryan's most embarrassing career fair and job hunt moments-How to create the perfect resume-Tips and tricks for making a splash at the career fair to land that next interview-How to crush your interview and what to...