April 17, 2002 - Future Tenses’ Jon Gordon interviews Alex Ignatiev about why computers are such a pain to turn on and off. Firing up a computer, or rebooting it after a crash, takes longer than we'd like. But it could be a lot quicker if new technology from the University of Houston is a hit in the marketplace. Already, the school has licensed the technology to Sharp Electronics.
April 17, 2002 - As part of Severe Weather Awareness Week in Minnesota, Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Bill Hughes, a SKYWARN spotter and a spotter instructor. Hughes says spotters cannot be replaced by technology.
June 17, 2002 - MPR’s Eugen Cha reports on efforts by Minnetonka-based company Cargill and the University of Minnesota to turn corn into plastic. It may give the state a lead in an emerging area of biotech, where the finished products are not medicines, or even crops, but industrial materials like plastic.
September 2, 2002 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Dr. Chip Bolman about the fifty-year anniversary of first open heart surgery. The world's first successful open-heart surgery was performed at the University of Minnesota. A team led by Doctor F. John Lewis operated on a five-year-old girl who was born with a hole in her heart. The girl survived and grew up to have two kids of her own. Since then, advances in medicine and medical technology have revolutionized the treatment available to people with heart trouble.
September 15, 2002 - On this American RadioWorks special radio report, “Nature's Revenge - Louisiana's Vanishing Wetlands” looks at a region of the United States that is crumbling and sinking into the sea. Scientists say it's causing one of the worst and least-publicized environmental disasters in America's history. As Daniel Zwerdling reports for NPR News and ARW, there's a moral to this story: when humans try to outwit nature, it can strike back with a vengeance.
January 20, 2003 - MPR’s Annie Feidt reports on new technology that is helping resorts produce even better snow…and removing humans from the equation. Trollhaugen ski area is testing out an automated snow gun for the first time this year in efforts in working towards full automation.
February 17, 2003 - Mainstreet Radio’s Dan Gunderson reports on pesticide misuse in Minnesota, and investigates how violations of the law are often not punished, and sometimes ignored.
April 14, 2003 - All Things Considered’s Lorna Benson interviews Bob Gehrz, an astrophysicist and a professor of astronomy at the University of Minnesota about NASA plans to launch the Space Infrared Telescope on April 27th, 2003. A goal of mission is to have telescope orbit the sun for seven years and capture different kinds of light in space.
February 10, 2004 - There are only a few places in the country considered hotbeds for emerging biotechnology industries and Minnesota isn't one of them. Governor Pawlenty hopes to change that with an initiative to strengthen a biotech corridor in the Twin Cities and Rochester. But some say biotech businesses could also spur economic development in rural Minnesota. Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports that leaders in Bemidji are exploring ways to develop a mini biotech cluster of their own.
August 26, 2004 - Mark Seeley presents his annual “Take the Weather Quiz” to the audience at the State Fair. Topics include history of State Fair weather, cold temperature ranges, possible El Nino, and snow forecast for upcoming winter. Seeley also answers audience questions.