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  • How to Start 40 Companies (and Counting)

    Robert Langer has co-founded dozens of companies, holds over a thousand patents, and is a pioneering figure in drug delivery and tissue engineering. Robert has solved a lot of problems, and is working on many…


  • The Cutting Edge of Energy Storage: Rust

    Mateo Jaramillo is the co-founder and CEO of Form Energy. Mateo’s problem is this: How do you build batteries that can provide affordable backup power to the grid for days at a time? As it…


  • The First Pig to Human Kidney Transplant

    This March, doctors successfully transplanted a pig kidney into a person for the first time in history. Mike Curtis is the CEO of eGenesis, the company that raised the pig whose kidney was used for…


  • Designing a Drone That Delivers

    Imagine picking up your phone and ordering something from Walmart. Fifteen minutes later, a drone hovers over your yard, lowers your order down to you, and zips away. Adam Woodworth wants this to be so…


  • How Do Psychedelics Work?

    Psychedelics are going mainstream. The FDA has approved ketamine for certain patients with depression, and may soon approve MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But a fundamental question remains unclear: How do psychedelics work? Gul…


  • Building Boundary-Breaking Balloons

    Kai Marshland is the co-founder and chief product officer at WindBorne Systems. Kai’s problem is this: How do you build weather balloons that can stay in the air for months at a time, and pair…


  • Building a Robot That Can Walk the Walk

    Jonathan Hurst is a professor at Oregon State University, and co-founder and chief robot officer at Agility Robotics. Jonathan’s problem is this: How do you design a robot that can walk and do useful tasks…


  • Can Your Phone Tell When You’re Getting Sick?

    What does sickness sound like? Sometimes it’s obvious, like a cough, sniffle, or stuffy nose. But some conditions cause subtle changes that only a trained ear – or AI – can detect. Dr. Yael Bensoussan…


  • The High-Stakes Quest to Reinvent Cement

    Cement is, almost literally, everywhere. It is extraordinarily useful, which is why humanity makes 4 billion metric tons of it every year. But cement is also extremely carbon intensive to produce. Leah Ellis is the…


  • How a Battery-Powered Stove Could Electrify America

    Sam D’Amico is the founder and CEO of Impulse Labs, a company that makes induction stoves, with a clever twist. Sam’s problem is this: How do you build an electric cooktop that works just as…