Topic: Energy, Environment

Most people don't think of liquid nitrogen or ink jet printers as kitchen utensils, but most cooks aren't like Homaro Cantu. In this special edition of IEEE Spectrum Radio, follow Chef Cantu from his family's fast food kitchen to his restaurant Moto, one of the most innovative in the world.

Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Dr. Patrick Gruber, CEO of Gevo and the inventor of plastics derived from corn, about corn derived biofuels. Also, Dr. Bill Gerwick and his graduate student Cameron Coates talk about producing fuel from algae.

What does Wall Street make of the trends in cleantech, corporate environmental strategy, and emerging carbon markets? In this talk, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, two Goldman Sachs managers discuss how their investment firm is making the financing of corporate deals contingent upon the incorporation of increasingly stringent environmental criteria.

Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Tim Sanders, author of "Saving the World at Work," and asks how to combine doing good, with working.

There is a growing consciousness of environmental responsibility in the fashion industry. This new trend, known as "green design", has inspired some top designers to rebrand their products for the environment savvy consumer, and reform their processes to foster a sustainable environment. Panelists Marci Zaroff, Helen Job, Scott Hahn and Julie Gilhart discuss some of the challenges faced, and the new initiatives introduced by the fashion industry in measuring up to this trend.

One of the presentations at the DEMO fall 2008 conference was not like the others. Amidst a flock of Web 2.0 startups, Microstaq showed a MEMS (microelectromechanical system) device that controls the flow of coolant in air conditioners. On this edition of Interviews with Innovators, host Jon Udell speaks with, Microstaq's VP of Engineering Mark Luckevich, who explains how silicon-based MEMS valves can improve process efficiency and reduce cost in a wide range of flow control applications.

Jock Gill is an entrepreneur who's thinking broadly and acting decisively to help create a decentralized energy system that makes appropriate use of biomass. In part two of a two-part interview, he and host Jon Udell discuss zero-energy houses, micro combined heat and power, peer-to-peer resource sharing, and the relevance of Thomas Malthus, Benjamin Franklin, and John Nash -- among others -- to our current energy predicament.

Jock Gill is an entrepreneur who's thinking broadly and acting decisively to help create an decentralized energy system that makes appropriate use of biomass. In part one of a two-part interview, he and host Jon Udell discuss alternatives to fossil fuel for residential heating in New England, including wood, wood pellets, and a new approach that uses compressed tablets made from grass.

Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with the Industrial and Environment Technology VP of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, Brett Erickson, about the recent farm billed passed by the United States Congress.

Better design integration and materials innovation can lead to big energy and cost savings, and rapid return on investment, particularly in the automotive and housing industries. Amory Lovins, one of America's most influential energy speakers, offers some profitable business-led solutions to climate, oil, and nuclear proliferation problems in this Stanford Center for Social Innovation sponsored talk. Lovins offers strategies to reduce US oil dependence through a menu of renewable and fossil fuel types.