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  • 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…

  • 3D Printing a Better Rocket

    Tim Ellis is the co-founder and CEO of Relativity Space, a company with a unique approach to manufacturing rockets. Tim’s problem is this: How can you use 3D printing to make rockets more efficiently? Eventually,…

  • Using AI to Help Doctors Save Lives

    Every year in the U.S., tens of thousands of hospital patients die of preventable causes. For many of these patients, warning signs are subtle and easy for doctors to miss. Suchi Saria is the founder…

  • Making Dam Good Hydropower

    Gia Schneider is the co-founder and CEO of Natel Energy, a company that is trying to transform the way hydroelectric power works. Gia’s problem is this: how do you draw hydropower from rivers without damaging…