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Angela Zhan

Angela Zhan

Released Thursday, 23rd June 2022
Good episode? Give it some love!
Angela Zhan

Angela Zhan

Angela Zhan

Angela Zhan

Thursday, 23rd June 2022
Good episode? Give it some love!
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Episode Transcript

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0:00

my name is angela, john i'm

0:03

14 i'm an inventor and

0:05

my response to somebody who says you're

0:07

too young is, everybody has to start

0:09

young in order to actually make an impact

0:14

be an environmental engineer allows

0:16

me to i build to help the world by

0:18

making us greener yeah

0:23

if you focus on what

0:25

you want and keep on going, never stopped then

0:27

you actually be able to make a difference you

0:30

have take care of the world

0:37

wow computer genius generation apart

0:40

hathaway talk to young people do incredible things

0:42

and the world as sam i'm your host

0:44

doctor stephanie castillo on science producer

0:46

a writer and causing creator with a phd

0:48

and communication i'm so

0:50

excited since you see you are yesterday

0:52

angeles on who engineered and discovered

0:55

plastic degree in bacteria that me bio

0:57

plastics angela uses of syria

0:59

which microscopic organisms

1:01

to change plastic into bio plastics

1:04

just like how humans in digest food

1:06

the back here that angela uses to eat

1:08

and i just pop it was special

1:10

about bio degradable passage is that

1:12

it's able to break down to basic molecules

1:14

and mixed back in with the earth incested

1:16

few months and like regular plastic with

1:18

six hundreds of years to break down the

1:21

welcome angela to the south hi

1:24

how bad is plastic really for the environment

1:28

he avenues lot that there are bunch

1:31

of animals like dying from plastic especially

1:33

the ocean the

1:34

global crisis the over abundance

1:36

of plastics filling the oceans

1:38

and live

1:38

million metric tons of cement assessing

1:41

dumped into the also easier

1:43

read to the oceans and marine

1:45

life

1:46

and when he realized he ran sally some

1:48

so seen as are lies in strangled from

1:50

my past and netting or when they like

1:52

the plastic it's really harmful for them and

1:55

so it's just keeps on going on our world

1:57

them in the cupboard a plastic can

1:59

we didn't one time wise it's important

2:01

to you we live on the earth and without the

2:03

earth we wouldn't be alive so yes

2:06

take care of the world very direct industry to

2:08

point

2:09

we gotta do something about it is a key tell

2:11

us what our i think that how

2:13

it a better than traditional plastics

2:15

athletic have been my property

2:17

to actual planted but they're made

2:19

in the environment naturally so they can be degraded

2:21

and used by microbes are that are

2:24

uncertainty is due to brutal and for

2:26

like plastic which safe and

2:29

environment for hundreds of years which

2:31

can be really bad for the world

2:33

and so is there a reason why you're interested

2:35

in using bacteria to tackle this problem

2:38

i came up with the idea when

2:40

i was twelve that syria

2:42

is syria was the only known seems

2:45

to be able to degrade

2:47

plastics bacteria is

2:49

really of systems because of the smaller

2:51

size and how they don't have to use up so

2:53

much energy the

2:54

one you're feeding bacteria

2:56

plastic and then comes out as a bio plastics

2:59

how does the bio plastic look like

3:02

the back as the is the summer guess ill

3:04

because author extracted from inside

3:06

the that syria and so

3:08

once i extract and like dry out it's

3:11

ah the bottom of i fear

3:13

, flask and it's just

3:15

such a layer on the bottom that film

3:18

and he just as he did out you think

3:20

you're right essential fatty lives together

3:22

that what it looks like and

3:24

it feels site

3:26

really dry plan

3:29

every just as like harder bread all

3:31

if it's like more the stillness a very flexible

3:34

right grid or if like that touching it and

3:36

then it becomes more like powder and

3:38

engine decide make the powder into what you ma

3:41

ah the

3:42

more you're able to like harvests and act fact here is

3:44

what your harvesting to kind of be

3:46

molded into a feature of plastics

3:49

a product that someone can use that's the goal

3:52

yeah that's really cool my break

3:54

them on this blaze

3:56

, i saw about plastics

3:59

was at them and fast and educationally

4:01

here now that isn't

4:04

over

4:07

i set my mentor an email

4:10

and set her just we're

4:12

hoping he through the whole day and

4:15

been there for me part the gifts

4:17

was i little bit of the bar plastic and then

4:19

i pulled my family and it's so good

4:22

but with something new that he'd and what about

4:24

bacteria before working with it lot

4:28

they didn't really work with bacteria

4:30

deserve the chance also doesn't really teach that

4:32

much science and how bacteria and

4:34

so most of the things the things to

4:36

learn through like reading literature

4:38

or last my mentor so

4:41

i learned basically everything i

4:44

basically new were that bacterial was small

4:46

and that is it at all no fatalities

4:50

there's a lot of things i

4:53

have have it the university

4:56

i also was able to contact

4:58

some be at your shoe and they helped me

5:01

i'd get lab so i can

5:03

sometimes use it when i'm being

5:05

part of my experiments and

5:07

some most of the work did was in

5:09

lab or at my mentors

5:12

lab where did where meet your mentor my

5:14

local sides there is the richest science fair and

5:16

the director linked me up with doctor michelle

5:18

to amber who's my mentor i

5:21

needed somebody who specialize more like

5:23

microbiology it is i don't really so

5:25

that much about microbiology i think the

5:27

natural curiosity of has been able to put

5:29

things apart and put back together just

5:31

habit

5:31

better understanding of the signs that read doing it's like

5:34

what essentially been assigned to says and

5:36

as i think using the potato six start

5:39

up a life while whether other projects that you did

5:41

for your science fair that kind of work in

5:43

motivational are inspiring real continue

5:45

to parker interesting curiosity and science

5:48

the that's very that all

5:50

the way through right now

5:52

some first grade so that's a ten years wow

5:54

or maybe alone but yeah

5:58

and so right now it's

6:00

just like the outcome there

6:02

is a lot of ledge call

6:05

them away and you

6:07

don't really get result he got plenty of of

6:09

little bit if you

6:11

have a two goal in mind and you're

6:14

able to japan to then when you get

6:16

the results from efficient and

6:18

more and fifteen

6:20

me each year of for

6:23

education of her previous tragic

6:26

the each year it also

6:29

he didn't

6:32

and it because i'll try discovering

6:34

things for myself instead just by looking

6:36

at a news or the go a size

6:38

love those are for actually seeing it

6:40

for whether any moment

6:43

have you designing your project that you have

6:45

for your brain and so roadblock where you're stuck

6:47

for a while before finding that

6:49

new answer i had a lot

6:51

most of it wasn't really the planning stage

6:53

is actually doing it say interests

6:56

and the planning it was pretty

6:58

easy but once you start doing it to

7:00

dot harder because of the

7:02

concept of putting things

7:05

together that actually related and

7:08

so on site assume the

7:13

one of know i was serious

7:16

about that about that temperatures and so

7:18

each one has a specific country

7:21

the united states that voters choose that

7:23

that add machine that allowed me to

7:26

grow the bacteria and when i

7:28

was acting like have church the

7:34

though

7:35

urge after eating a bunch of paper is

7:37

angela

7:39

all over the conditions

7:42

for

7:43

korea is , of of

7:45

i think troubleshooting

7:47

is always gonna be the hardest because it's like you're

7:49

saying like you're doing and you're like why isn't this working

7:52

what he feels like the bigger goal of are

7:54

you still refining map process or

7:56

where are you right now i'm of that

7:58

list of town that right now

8:00

wouldn't mind doing it like the largest yep

8:02

so i met tried like find somebody made

8:04

sense companies so that can use like by reactor

8:07

to test it out on bigger

8:09

scale instead just small scales because

8:11

conditions may need to be changed or might be

8:14

to treat few things what is like that the

8:16

bigger picture that you won aside from like

8:18

scaling up being like the that's what

8:20

you want to in the help improve

8:23

or further develop your project as

8:25

you continue to grow older

8:27

canavan i make it like really

8:29

say i'd

8:31

like the city is everywhere it's a

8:34

environmentally for me

8:35

replacement for plastic and

8:38

has basically the same properties same classic

8:41

it's and then

8:43

wow there's no way to actually change

8:46

even though the that to be so

8:48

this a series such a way

8:50

for us he changed and

8:52

he made a difference i

8:55

, when a to all the notes

8:58

and found on makes out works

9:00

on big still still can start

9:02

panhandling people to see if they're interested

9:04

on to see to we want

9:06

to try out yeah course

9:09

and terms of you individually as your project

9:11

develops it turns into hopefully some kind

9:13

of like a bigger

9:15

making a bring it across the country

9:17

are you wanting to become scientists yourself

9:19

yeah i think i want become like it and by

9:21

in the from the engineers site and i said

9:24

the world better place details but now

9:26

it's all an environmental problems it's

9:28

become a really challenging

9:30

for us to actually become a green

9:33

have been an environmental engineer

9:35

allows me to light bill's to help the world's

9:38

by making us

9:40

yeah know that's a solid goal so like the more

9:42

you learn then you're more you're able to

9:44

apply to continue to improve your

9:46

project and being able to make it the sustainable

9:49

product that want it to be that can actually be used

9:51

in masses my thing that's really inspiring

9:53

is there any advice the know that are interested

9:55

in pursuing something similar i think

9:58

if you want to you

10:00

it orbits ,

10:02

scientifically anything you love you

10:04

think that the find something that really

10:06

passionate about making a difference the

10:08

well as well answer the phone on

10:11

on local about and article article

10:13

tell if he front of lot new very

10:15

love are you were talking about just

10:18

keep on going and if he

10:20

can i get into that and that fighting

10:22

for i should address pjc much just

10:24

need break from as a threat if

10:27

you can cheat on during and after that such

10:29

we actually see she's so much

10:31

because if your eyes only don't have flavors

10:33

selfish thing is you only done it

10:35

to the media three the

10:38

here

10:39

i'll let you want to keep on going ever

10:42

stop in your and he didn't make

10:44

a difference in younger i

10:46

, has the

10:49

plus side because you're able to see world

10:51

differently from my son of it as

10:54

jobs , usually the inventors

10:56

and stuff but if you're younger you have

10:58

different view on when you're them venture

11:00

you can create things that front of you see single

11:03

fucking meeting meeting

11:06

procedure from trooper be here ah

11:10

man

11:10

they're very that the and the takes lot perseverance

11:12

dedication and and like the little bit disappointed

11:14

continue to push stereo especially when things are

11:16

hard to keep going for your dream

11:20

thank you so much for sharing your invention

11:23

with a and our the pleasure having

11:25

on the podcast angela and continue

11:28

to do the work that you're doing

11:30

and be machines that you want to in the world

11:32

and we're excited to see where you feature those think

11:35

you

11:35

thank you so much for listening this week's episode

11:37

i've seen this generation make sure to tune in

11:39

next week to hear our next guest and all the incredible

11:41

things that they're up to well see next

11:44

funding for the genius generation comes

11:46

from the arthur vining davis foundations

11:49

investing in our common future

11:52

support for tracks comes from the corporation for

11:54

public broadcasting

11:57

this is trucks in p

11:59

r [unk] alex

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