Space Junk with John Crassidis

01/30/23 • 12 min

John Crassidis, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Moog Professor of Innovation at UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, works with NASA, the U.S. Air Force and other agencies to monitor space debris, also known as space junk. In this episode, Cory Nealon talks to Crassidis about his journey from aspiring astronaut to academia, why space junk poses a threat to the future of satellites and space missions, and how he’s applying a $5 million grant from the Air Force—with the help of institutional partners and his students at UB—to help solve the problem.
Credits:
Host: Cory Nealon
Guest: John Crassidis
Writer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group

Coming May 6: Earthworms enjoy a pretty good rep. In truth, they’re an invasive species in the Northeast, not always a friend to our gardens, and a real menace to our forests. But they can be beneficial too. In this episode, ecologist Nick Henshue sheds light on the poorly understood creature, explaining how we can exploit its benefits while minimizing its potential for harm.

Next Episode

The Slow Loris with Stephanie Poindexter

Stephanie Poindexter, a biological anthropologist in UB's College of Arts and Sciences, specializes in how primates utilize and navigate their habitats. For the past 10 years, she has focused her research on the slow loris, an adorable yet venomous primate that inhabits Southeast Asia and surrounding areas. In this episode, Poindexter tells host Vicky Santos how she first became interested in primates (it helps to grow up near a zoo), how to track down a slow loris in a Thai forest in the middle of the night, and why we need to understand this little-known creature better if we wish to fully understand ourselves.
Credits:
Host: Vicky Santos
Guest: Stephanie Poindexter
Writer: Laura Silverman
Production and editing by UB Video Production Group

Driven to Discover - Space Junk with John Crassidis

Transcript

Cory Nealon:

Dr. John Crassidis was just a toddler when astronauts first landed on the moon. But by the time he was five, he was obsessed with the moment.

John Crassidis:

My first Halloween costume was an astronaut. So I wanted to be an astronaut.

Cory Nealon:

It sparked a passion for space that only grew with time. Today, Crassidis is the Moog Professor of Innovation and SUNY Distinguished Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University at Buffalo. More impo