Have a happy 4th of July!

On Wednesday, June 24th we’ll be speaking with Robert White, Sr. Scientist for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory – National Center for Photovoltaics and former Technical Staff member and now guest Scientist with Los Alamos National Laboratory, Space Sciences and Astrophysics group.

Robert is currently working on solar cell development and improving solar cell efficiencies by exploring different types of technologies (thin films vs. crystalline silicone). For more information about the section of the lab his is responsible for chck out www.nrel.gov/pv/pdil

Robert is also working at the Los Alamos National Laboratory creating robotic observatories that can search the night sky for changes (both new things and unusual changes in old objects) and initiate world wide follow ups by large scale instrumentation…all without humans in the loop. These also perform automated follow-ups from satellite triggers for gamma-ray bursts – the largest explosions in the universe other than the Big Bang.To quote Robert “Makes supernovae look like matches” For information about this project check out www.thinkingtelescopes.lanl.gov

Aside from his current projects we’ll also be discussing the history, myths and reality of Los Alamos National Laboratory from the development of the atom bomb all the way up to the most modern, cutting edge science the laboratory is currently involved in.

Robert White is also a software programmer and spent time at Ion Storm where he designed the game Deux Ex and prior to that worked with Richard Garriot on the Ultima series of games.

This should be an interesting and informative discussion and we hope you have the opportunity to tune in and listen.

We’ll be broadcasting this live on KPFT 90.1 FM in Houston and streaming via the World Wide Web here at geekradio.com

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From the press release:

Former CIA Tech Director Robert Wallace and Intelligence expert J. Keith Melton share the amazing gadgetry used by the CIA, from Communism to Al-Qaeda

What is an invisible photograph used for? What does it take to build a quiet helicopter? This may sound like a James Bond film, but these are actually technologies employed by CIA to gather information and insure national security. Now in paperback, SPYCRAFT: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE CIA’S SPYTECHS, FROM COMMUNISM TO AL-QAEDA (Plume/June 2009) by Robert Wallace and J. Keith Melton, shares the CIA’s secret and amazing technology behind the art of espionage, including never before seen photographs of government gadgets.

Spy technology exploded during the Second World War, and in the decades-long standoff with the Soviets, cameras, microphones, and encryption systems were clandestinely developed years before the public had access to them. And since, the CIA has transitioned from the Cold War to the digital age, and spycraft skills have developed alongside technology in prosecuting the long war against terrorism.

In the interview we will discuss the history and development of some of these amazingly inventive devices, created and employed against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions—including the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and continuing terrorist threats. Some of these devices include: