Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast
Jul 4, 2026 · 45 min · 12 segments
Guest: Em Dobberfuhl Mike's former Carnegie Science intern Em Dobberfuhl beams aboard to share how Project Hail Mary inspired them to pursue astrobiology. "Are we alone in the universe? Five times we…
Em DobberfuhlGuestMike WongHostThe best part of my job as a professional scientist, if I'm being completely honest, is working with students.
At the Carnegie Institution for Science, where I work as an astrobiologist, we have a summer internship program every year where we bring in 10 to 12 college students from around the country to our labs to partake in cutting-edge science.
Em is an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where they are double-majoring in English and astrophysics.
Em did an outstanding job in the lab last summer, and has presented their research at two scientific conferences so far, the American Geophysical Union, or AGU, last December, and the Astrobiology Science Conference, or AbSciCon, this past May, where they also won first place in AbSciCon's creative writing competition.
That came as no surprise to me, having become very accustomed to Em's incredible penchant for communicating complex ideas, as you'll see shortly.
Instead, we're gonna talk about a different piece of science fiction, Project Hail Mary, the hit novel and movie from author Andy Weir.
This story played a profound role in shaping Em's career interests, and it has some pretty cool science in it, too.
Oh, if you're worried about spoilers, you may want to read and/or watch Project Hail Mary before continuing onward with this episode.
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The best part of my job as a professional scientist, if I'm being completely honest, is working with students.
At the Carnegie Institution for Science, where I work as an astrobiologist, we have a summer internship program every year where we bring in 10 to 12 college students from around the country to our labs to partake in cutting-edge science.
Em is an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where they are double-majoring in English and astrophysics.
Em did an outstanding job in the lab last summer, and has presented their research at two scientific conferences so far, the American Geophysical Union, or AGU, last December, and the Astrobiology Science Conference, or AbSciCon, this past May, where they also won first place in AbSciCon's creative writing competition.
That came as no surprise to me, having become very accustomed to Em's incredible penchant for communicating complex ideas, as you'll see shortly.
Instead, we're gonna talk about a different piece of science fiction, Project Hail Mary, the hit novel and movie from author Andy Weir.
This story played a profound role in shaping Em's career interests, and it has some pretty cool science in it, too.
Oh, if you're worried about spoilers, you may want to read and/or watch Project Hail Mary before continuing onward with this episode.
