Modus Mirandi Podcast with Thomas Hikaru Clark
By Thomas Clark
Modus Mirandi Podcast with Thomas Hikaru ClarkMar 06, 2021
Katya Ivshina: Applied Math PhD @Harvard • Geometric Machine Learning
Katya Ivshina is a PhD student in Applied Mathematics at Harvard studying geometric machine learning
Katya's Instagram: @katya.ivshina
Katya's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KatyaIvshina
YouTube канал Кати на русском: https://www.youtube.com/@ekaterinaivshina
Timestamps:
(0:00) Intro
(1:16) Katya’s research explained at two different levels
(23:25) What excites you about the future of this field?
(29:20) Katya’s journey to doing a PhD at Harvard
(42:20) Cultural differences in the US
(54:22) What do you do outside of research and academics?
(1:03:20) Advice for current and prospective grad students
(1:14:05) Closing question: Topological data analysis explained simply
Ana Tsai: Fruit Fly Embryos, Immortality and California Strawberries
Ana Tsai is a PhD student in Biology at MIT from Stockton, California.
(0:30) What was your childhood like?
(3:25) Growing up with mixed heritage
(9:50) Smell of freshly picked tomatoes
(11:57) Did you ever imagine becoming a grad student?
(15:18) Researching immortality
(20:24) What do you do on a daily basis, Zelda protein
(24:30) Humans (and fruit flies) are basically a donut
(25:10) Optogenetics
(28:40) Generalizing from fruit flies to other species
(32:00) Setting goals in grad school
(34:20) Teaching and connecting with students
(42:00) Breaking out of bubbles
(51:00) Bees are really cute
(55:00) Potlucks with friends
(57:15) Where do you see yourself going after grad school?
(1:07:00) What would you tell someone who’s thinking about going into research?
Gun Ahn: Understanding Happiness & Depression
Gun Ahn is a visiting graduate student at MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences, where he studies pathways in the brain that are important for our understanding of depression. He is the author of several books, including one about why Finland has the reputation as the happiest country in the world.
Anna Ivanova: Language and Thought in the Brain
Anna Ivanova recently completed a PhD in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from MIT. She studies language and cognition in the brain using tools such as fMRI brain imaging. She is now starting a post-doctoral researcher position at the MIT Quest for Intelligence.
Language models & speech vs. thought: https://theconversation.com/googles-powerful-ai-spotlights-a-human-cognitive-glitch-mistaking-fluent-speech-for-fluent-thought-185099
Language vs. computer code comprehension: https://news.mit.edu/2020/brain-reading-computer-code-1215
Mental health blog post: https://oge.mit.edu/the-breaking-point/
Leora Eisenberg: Language and Identity in Ukraine, Russia, and Former USSR
Lily George: Status Anxiety in the Modern World
Anna Clark: Sustainability, Energy, and the Environment
Kat Kajderowicz: Synthetic Bio and Science Communication
Greta Tuckute: Language, Computers, and the Brain
James Brown-Kinsella: Nonsense in Ancient Chinese Philosophy
Daniel Yamamoto: Growing Up Half-Japanese in Japan
Cecily Polonsky: Teaching, Language, and Human Flourishing
Justinas Mickus: European Politics, Pandemic Learning, and Meaning in Life
Tez Clark: Knowledge, Understanding, and Intuition
Delaney Thull: Why Should We Care About Philosophy?
Jennie Kim: From Teaching to Tech Policy, Anti-Asian Discrimination
Tom Clark (My Dad)
Will Nolan: Free Will, Virtue, and the Soul
Zartosht Ahlers: Cosmopolitanism, Ritual, and Culture
Isabelle DeSisto: Soviet Union, Cuba, and the Russosphere
Julia Clark: Gen Z, Performativity, and the Aeneid
Nate Gadiano: A Capella, Poetry, and Beauty
Nate Gadiano was the president of the Princeton Tigertones, a world-class mens' a cappella group. He studied Italian and Medieval Studies. Nate currently works at a Catholic boys' school in the Washington, D.C. area, where he runs admissions and teaches a physics class. Check out Nate’s poetry at https://dailypaths333061334.wordpress.com/.