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>> And right now we're
ready for our interview,

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and we'll welcome Matt Lynch
to Space Station Live today.

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Welcome aboard the
International Space Station

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and into Mission Control, Matt.

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>> Well thank you, Kelly.

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It's very nice nice to be
here with you this afternoon.

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>> Well, we've already
kind of given a preview

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of the experiment that
you are working with

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and that the crew aboard the
space station has been working

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with this week.

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Tell us a little bit about the
experiment you're working on.

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>> Sure, sure.

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Let me give you a little bit
of background to start with.

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Most of the nuclear
products that we make,

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they contain very very small
micron-sized particles.

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It helps to make
the product stable.

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These particles are
really, really small.

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And in fact, they're about
the size of a pinhead

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or even smaller, and so we
need microscopes to see them.

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But what we're trying to do
is structure them correctly,

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and if they assemble themselves
into these small structures,

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can weave their way
through that liquid

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and help prevent separation
such as settling of large drops

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and particles that we try
to put into these products.

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And we call these
assembled structures strands.

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And if done correctly
the strands have

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certain characteristics.

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They have a width.

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They have a length, and we
like to maintain those strands

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over long periods of time,

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typically for months,
for years for us.

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At the same time, we're going
to set these up and we're going

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to keep them together.

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There are processes
such as Brownian motion,

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and these are kind of those
little thermal jiggles

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that you see where small
particles tend to move,

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and it has the effect
of basically moving all

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of these particles around,
changing the strands on us,

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and you know really we don't
understand the physics behind

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that and current theories
are lacking, so for us

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and for the community at large,
it's really hard to be able

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to control and develop
systems in predictable ways

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because we don't understand
how to do this correctly.

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So, in our experiment
that we're doing

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for the ACE we have
these mixtures.

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They're kind of idealized
particles.

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We keep large ones.

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We keep small ones together.

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This kind of reflects
somewhat the reality

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of the commercial
mixtures that we deal with.

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These mixtures are placed
into small cylindrical cells,

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and those are mounted on
microscopes so we can see them.

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And the large and small
particles can be magnified

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with the scope.

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Then we have fluorescent tags
on each of them so we can look

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at the small ones
independent of the large ones

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and ask how they assemble
into those strands

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and how they move over time.

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So, for example, I think I have
a picture here that is taken,

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actually some laboratories
at Harvard

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with some of our colleagues.

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You see green ones which
are kind of big and red ones

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that are kind of small.

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You see the strands on the left
side that are all put together,

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and that forms the
stability in our product.

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And so with the experiments

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in general what we do is we
actually have an astronaut

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who comes in and tries
to randomize the sample.

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Inside that little
cylindrical cell is a stir bar.

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We take the stir
bar by a magnet.

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He moves that stir
bar back and forth,

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and that takes the samples,
breaks up all those strands

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that you see there and
the sample is randomized.

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And then what we do is we
watch that structure redevelop

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into those strands, and
we ask over time how

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that sample then
begins to change,

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and so how the individual
particles move.

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How the strands move.

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And that gives us the insight
and the data that we need then

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to develop our theories.

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>> So how does microgravity
make your experiment possible?

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>> Yeah, so it's
kind of critical.

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So let me use that
same picture to kind

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of illustrate this for you.

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So on the left side
is the strands

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after we totally
mix the sample up.

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This was done again
on earth in gravity.

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You see the red, and
you see the green.

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And you see that there's a
lot of material in that field

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of view that we can measure.

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And what will happen is that
over about 5 minutes' timeframe,

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you see the picture
on the right.

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And the picture on the
right doesn't show much

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in the way of mass at all.

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And it's not as if we're
creating or destroying mass.

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What's happening is that
mass is settling out on us.

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And so if we try to measure

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over long time periods how
these structures are evolving,

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I really can't do that
because they are settling

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and making all the changes
that we see in those pictures.

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So recall that we're
looking at this over,

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or thinking about these
changes over the course

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of days, months, years.

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Five minutes on earth
[inaudible].

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So really microgravity is
critical for us in order

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to do these kinds of
experiments, get the data

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that we need to develop
these theories.

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>> Well so, you know, on earth
with gravity, if you have a can

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of paint or stuff,
you have to mix it

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up really good before
you go off to use it

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if you've let it
sit for a while.

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What in simple terms
are you trying to learn

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about these things
in microgravity?

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>> Yep, so from our perspective,
we've got product designers,

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and what they want to do is
they want to be able to choose

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in a sense those particles.

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Here we show them as red and
green, but for us there's kind

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of a pallet of things
that we could use.

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And what one would
want to do is be able

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to design the right pallet,
use the right tools in a sense

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to make that work
in given products.

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Right now it's kind of a
trial and error process.

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You know, we go through them.

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We try to, and you can
think about paints as well,

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but you can go through and you
try to pick the right flavors

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or colors, the right sizes
to make it all work right.

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The problem tends to be that
it takes a very long time.

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If you think of all the
permutations of things

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that you might pick, and then
you have to measure these

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over long periods of time.

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So even the paints settling
example, you have to wait,

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let the pain sit around
for months to know whether

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or not you have something
that works reasonably well.

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And even if you spend that
time, there's no guarantee

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that it works, and so
really what we're hoping

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to learn is basically
the fundamental rules

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that govern the formation
of these structures,

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how those structures change
over time, and by doing

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so we can make a much
better directed experiment

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and more rational
design of our products.

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All right.

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>> So.

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>> Um hum?

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>> So, Matt, I understand
you guys were on a bit

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of a break this week,
but you have been working

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through a number of samples.

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Tell us a little bit about that.

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>> Yeah, well for the
break, the break is not

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as if there are any issues
with the project per se.

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It turns out, and I don't
know all the details honestly,

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but it turns out that the
orientation of the station,

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its electrical panels that
are light and solar panels

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that collect all
the electricity,

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they have to be oriented
in such a way

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that the antenna can
actually transmit data back

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down to earth.

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Right now over the course
of this week they're

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in an orientation that
then kind of prevents them

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from sending a transmission
efficiently,

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at least for our facilities.

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So we actually through the
last number of experiments

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that we've done, we've
been doing these probably

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for about 3 or 4 months now.

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We've collected a lot
of interesting data.

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We actually have had some
really unexpected results,

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and it led us to
really think a lot

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about how we're doing
our experiments,

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how we're doing our
measurements,

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how our optics are set up.

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So the break is actually a
good opportunity right now

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to gather all that information
together, try to figure out how

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to make our experiments
even better.

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I would point out that we are
really the first of a number

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of certain experiments
fort ACE program itself,

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and so in many ways we're
trying to figure out how

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to make all these things work.

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So the break is a fantastic
time to just take a good breath,

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make sure we get all of
our measurements correct.

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>> And what's your background?

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Where are you from?

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Where'd you go to school?

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Where do you work now and how
does that help get you involved

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in the space station research?

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>> Well, yeah, so, you know
it's interesting, I guess.

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I mean, I grew up in New
England and spent a few years

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in high school in Virginia.

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And I could remember through
that time, and I don't know

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if you're old enough for this
or not, but there was a series

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from Carl Sagan, who used to
talk about the cosmos, billions

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and billions of things,

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and it kind of gets people
interested in science.

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Always had an interest in
science from that, from there on

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and received a degree in
chemistry at Virginia Tech,

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a PhD in chemistry from
the University of Wisconsin

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in Madison, and my
thesis background revealed

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around optical physics
and properties

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of molecules on surfaces.

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Joined P and G about 20 years
ago in research and development,

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but along the same lines
maintained real strong

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academic ties.

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In fact, to hold adjunct
positions at Cincinnati

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and adjunct position in chemical
engineering at University

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of Delaware, and what this
does for you is it allows you

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to take otherwise
really, really complicated

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and sophisticated problems that
we deal with in an industry,

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and we can tie it
and work it together

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with our academic partners.

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And then through
those partnerships

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that we had then the opportunity
to work with NASA again.

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I got introduced to NASA and
got into the ACE program.

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>> So you know a
legitimate question

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of tax payers is
what's in it for me.

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How can you apply
your research results

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to benefit people
here back on earth?

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>> Yeah, I think this
is really quite simple.

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You know, we as a
company make products

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that are designed really to
include the quality of life just

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of ordinary people,
and all the things

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that we're learning here
help us bring more products,

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better products, detergents,
shampoos, fabric conditioners,

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things like this, to
increase the quality

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of life for those people.

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And I would also point out that
the science that we're doing

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as well is very basic science,

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and so it helps the academic
world to grow their basis

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of understanding of
materials as well.

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So on both levels
I think it's great.

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>> Well, Matt Lynch from Proctor
and Gamble in Cincinnati.

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Thank you so much for joining
us, a principal investigator

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for the advanced
colloids experiment.

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We wish you a lot of good
luck and good data gathering

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with your experiment
and look forward

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to a progress report
in the future.

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>> Fantastic, Kelly.

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It was a pleasure
talking to you.

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Thank you for your time.

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>> Thank you.

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>> Okay, bye bye.

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>> Again, that was Matt Lynch
from Proctor and Gamble,

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who is working with the advanced
colloid experiment aboard the

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International Space
Station looking

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at how small particles suspended
in fluids that are used

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in our everyday lives in
many different ways react

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in microgravity, bringing
that fundamental research back