Curious about the guests we feature on the We Are ETH podcast? We have summarized the three personal questions that our host Susan Kish asks each guest at the end of the episode.

What did Grace want to be when she was growing up?

I wanted to be a scientist, specifically a medical scientist and a professional swimmer. I just loved being in the water. I don’t even think I really had a stroke. I think I tried out all the strokes.

That dream was abandoned quite quickly!

What was Grace’s favourite place in Zurich?

I lived near the University of Zurich campus, the Irchel campus.

During COVID, when we were able to go out, every single day, rain, shine or snow I went out in the forests above Zurich. I used to run and walk on the mountain biking trails rather than the actual trails because I could be engulfed by the trees. A lot of mountain bikers got mad at me! 

That was one of my favorite places to explore, because even though I was in the city, I felt that I wasn’t, especially during the times when we couldn’t travel.

So that’s probably one of my favorite places.

What is Grace reading right now?

When I was a child my father would read me books or make up stories about different realms, and I like a lot of different literature. 

One of my all time favorite books is called Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli. I’ve read it multiple times and I can’t wait to share that with my daughter!

Right now, I’m reading The Lost City of the Monkey God which is a very interesting take on the idea of using space research, like LIDAR systems, to understand anthropological sites.

What is fascinating Grace right now?

Something that I continue to be very curious about is the indigenous perspective. So, understanding the world from different cultural perspectives and how we can continue to intersect what we consider westernized science with indigenous science.

Because there’s a lot of influence of indigenous science into Western science but there’s not a lot of direct understanding and a lot of voices are not being heard. 

And so I continue to at least want to learn about that indigenous perspective and understand how I can weave that into my teachings and provide also hopefully a platform for others to speak out about those interconnections.

Listen to the full episode with Grace Crain, ETH alumna, plant ecologist, and STEM educator as she talks about why science isn’t just about beakers and chemistry sets. 

Too busy to listen to the We Are ETH podcast? We have summarized the three personal questions that our host Susan Kish asks each guest at the end of the episode. 

What was Mark’s favourite place in Zurich? 

It depends on the season, but during the summer, it has to be sitting by the lake. And in the winter, I would say Uetliberg. There’s a spot that I discovered where you feel like you’re sitting on top of the clouds, which is very beautiful!

What is Mark reading? 

Currently ‘Playground’ and ‘Overstory’ by Richard Powers. They are really great novels! 

What is fascinating Mark right now?

The fungi kingdom in general! I’m very excited about what’s coming for the fungi kingdom and functional mushrooms, which are mushrooms that can improve your performance or health.

There’s a huge variety of them, like Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Chaga and so on. They can serve as an alternative to normal coffee. Coffee can sometimes give you anxiety or a crash which doesn’t happen with a chagaccino!

Listen to the full episode with Mark Essam Zahran, ETH alumnus, founder and CEO of the ETH spin-off YASAI, a Swiss vertical farming company.

Too busy to listen to the We Are ETH podcast? We have summarized the three personal questions that our host Susan Kish asks each guest at the end of the episode. 

What was David’s favourite place in Zurich? 

My favourite place right now is on a sailing boat on the lake in Zurich. 

I recently picked up my sailing license. It’s a tough test and a wonderful learning journey as well. Sailing on the lake is such a special thing.

What did David want to be when he grew up?

When I was a little boy, I wanted to become a physicist because Albert Einstein was a physicist, right? 

And I’m not too far off. My field is very technical, very science-y. I think Albert Einstein would have become a computer scientist in modern days! 

What is David reading? 

My favorite book is Matilda by Roald Dahl. 

I happen to read Matilda again every once in a while and you just caught me at the very moment I have it on my bedside table. 

Yeah, I really love Matilda.  

What is fascinating David right now?

My background in AI research. It has been such an interesting time to watch the field explode and come up with new ideas. 

So I learned a lot by following other researchers’ work on the AI frontier, but also at the same time I discovered a complete novel resource of knowledge. That’s the local knowledge and indigenous wisdom of the communities that I’ve worked with, and I think that is so beautiful. I want to translate this wisdom into a language of science that can benefit both scientific expertise and local knowledge in a more fair way. 

Listen to the full episode with David Dao, a climate change AI expert, and chief scientist at GainForest.Earth and hear about the importance of preserving cultural heritage with AI, how we can redefine climate finance, and winning the XPRIZE. 

Too busy to listen to the We Are ETH podcast? We have summarized the three personal questions that our host Susan Kish asks each guest at the end of the episode. 

What was Alexis’ favourite place in Zurich? 

Without a doubt. It was the CAB relax, or as I like to call it, the nap room at ETH. 

It was the best place at ETH to take a break. It was calm. It was peaceful, it was quiet, there were little nap beds for you, and there was somebody working there whose job was to wake you up and tell you when it was time to go back to work, and it left me feeling recharged and more productive for the rest of the day. I honestly think that every university should have a nap room!

What did Alexis want to be when she grew up?

I wanted to be an actress, particularly on Broadway, not in the movies. I did a lot of theatre growing up, and I think it was maybe around high school when my dad sat me down and had a really serious talk. And he said, you should really go into science and just be an avid patron of the arts.

And I’ve absolutely taken that advice to heart. I did go into science. I am a season ticket holder at Playhouse Square, which is the second largest theatre district in the United States, only after Broadway.

What is Alexis reading? 

So I just recently finished two very interesting books. One was ‘The Nightingale’ by Kristen Hanna, that was a great book! I really loved it. It was a historical fiction set during World War II that followed two sisters in Nazi occupied France. That was phenomenal. I couldn’t put it down. I think I read it in two days.

And the other one was ‘The Dutch House’ by Anne Patchett. It was about a family, and it revolves around the house the children grew up in, and it takes place over several decades, so it was very interesting too.

What is fascinating Alexis right now?

I’ve always done research with healthy adults. And of course, any time that you move away from healthy adults, there are additional safety considerations and other aspects that you need to be very careful about when you’re working with more vulnerable populations. 

I’ve always been very interested in how research can help people with autism spectrum disorder or post traumatic stress disorder or anxiety or depression or even grief. So I’m moving a little bit more into these areas. But of course, doing so very carefully and very respectfully.

Listen to the full episode with Alexis Block, Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University and hear about how robots can be affectionate as well as semi-spontaneous, and why we should embrace the rise of new technologies: https://circle.ethz.ch/podcast/