Introducing CalgaryToSpace, a group of students from the University of Calgary with the dream of launching Calgary's first student-built satellite! In this epsiode of the PAM Talks, mathematics PhD student, E, interviews Kaleigh Beer, President of CalgaryToSpace, and Aarti Chandiramani, Orbit Lead. The first CalgaryToSpace CubeSat, FrontierSat, is scheduled for launch in Fall 2025, in partnership with Exolaunch. Listen to learn about this exciting initiative and how students can become involved in Canada's aerospace industry.

• Mentor: Kaleigh Beer, President, and Aarti Chandiramani, Orbit Lead, from CalgaryToSpace
• Host: E, Mathematics PhD student
• Edited by: Becky Booth, physics PhD student, University of Calgary
• Produced by: Laiba Nayeem, undergraduate student, University of Calgary

The PAM Talks gratefully acknowledges support from the University of Calgary Graduate Student Association Quality Money grant program.

Located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, just southwest of Calgary, the University of Calgary’s Rothney Astrophysical Observatory supports research, teaching, and public outreach in astronomy and science. Jennifer Howse, the Observatory’s Education Specialist, oversees its outreach and school programs, helping connect people of all ages to the night sky. In this interview, PhD student Solveig Thompson speaks with Jennifer about the importance of science communication, our connection to the sky across the generations through storytelling, and the growing need to protect our dark skies.

The Rothney Astrophysical Observatory is located under the starry skies of the traditional territories of the peoples of Treaty 7, which include the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprised of the Siksika, the Piikani, and the Kainai First Nations), the Tsuut’ina First Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda (including Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney First Nations). The City of Calgary is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta (Districts 5 and 6).

Information about upcoming public nights at the Rothney Observatory can be found at https://science.ucalgary.ca/rothney-observatory/public-events.

• Mentor: Jennifer Howse, Education Specialist, Rothney Astrophysical Observatory, University of Calgary
• Host: Solveig Thompson, astrophysics PhD student, University of Calgary
• Edited by: Josué Ibarra Molinas, physics PhD student, University of Calgary
• Produced by: Becky Booth, astrophysics PhD student, University of Calgary

The PAM Talks gratefully acknowledges support from the University of Calgary Graduate Student Association Quality Money grant program.

Often, systems cannot easily be described by their parts or the sum of their parts — an everyday example is the brain. How do we study these systems? And how do physicists contribute to this work? Dr. Maria Masoliver is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary, specializing in complexity science and computational neuroscience. In this video Maria chats with Ea, an undergraduate student in math and physics, about her path into neuroscience research via physics and the wonders of interdisciplinary work.

• Mentor: Dr. Maria Masoliver, post-doctoral researcher in complexity science and computational neuroscience.
• Host: Ea, University of Calgary Math and Physics Alumnus.
• Produced and edited by: Dr. Davor Curic, University of Calgary

The PAM Talks gratefully acknowledges support from the University of Calgary Graduate Student Association Quality Money grant program.

Click here for the episode transcript