Your Friendly Physicist and other Nerds: Stories from Physics and Science

Lucas Kreuzer

Your Friendly Physicist and Other Nerds is the science podcast where curiosity meets conversation. Hosted by physicist Lucas Kreuzer, this show brings you engaging interviews with scientists, engineers, and creative thinkers across disciplines — from quantum physics to climate science, from materials research to machine learning. Whether you're a fellow researcher, a science enthusiast, or just nerdy at heart, join us for deep dives into cutting-edge research, honest stories from the lab, and surprising insights into how science shapes our world.

🎙️ New episodes regularly.

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20 episodes
Updated April 28

Episodes20

Newest first

April 28 · 34 min
(GERMAN) Episode #29: "Vom Labor zur Firma: Die Gründungsgeschichte von Qkera und die Batterien der Zukunft" mit Dr. Andreas Weis und Dr. Steffen Weinmann
"In the end, founding our company was a no‑brainer!" If you can say this about the founding process of your company, you've probably done a few things right. With the right people. At the right place. Dr. Andreas Weis and Jennifer L.M. Rupp founded Qkera in 2023. Steffen Weinmann came in a bit later as Head of Engineering. Together with a (still) small team they develop next-generation batteries. And they use materials that are not so different from what your favorite coffee cup is made of: oxide ceramics. But as Andreas puts it: "It's one thing to have breakthroughs in the lab, but it's another to have an ecosystem that helps you scale it." And that's why it is not a coincidence that Qkera was founded at Technische Universität München, where you have support and especially infrastructure (meaning lab-space and equipment) through TUM Venture Labs and UnternehmerTUM, as well as super broad and active industry/startup/expert network. Great discussions, great company, great guys! Listen now to the full origin story of Qkera with Andreas and Steffen on your favorite podcast platform. #yourfriendlyphysicist
Dec 28, 2025 · 1 hr 6 min
(GERMAN) Episode #28: "Science & Travel" mit Dr. André Baumeister
In der neuen Episode ist André Baumeister von FramScience zu Gast: Geograph, Geologe und jemand, der Reisen mit Wissenschaft und echte Lernerfahrungen kombiniert. Von den Alpen über Norwegen bis in die Arktis sprechen wir darüber, wie aus Beobachten ein tieferes Verständnis für Landschaften, Klima und die dahinterstehende Wissenschaft wird. Ein Winter-Special mit Abenteuer-Geschichten, und eine wohlverdiente Pause nach dem Feiertagstrubel. Und wenn ihr gerade dabei seid den Urlaub fürs kommende Jahr zu planen, nimm diese Folge gerne als kleine Starthilfe. Link zur FRAM Seite gibts hier: https://www.framsciencetravel.de/
Aug 27, 2025 · 37 min
Inside Beamtime: Where Science meets Adventure
Imagine, you rent a car, pack it with scientific equipment, a bunch of samples, and your favorite colleagues. You drive to a large-scale facility, where you set up your experiment and spend days and nights to shoot neutrons or x-rays on your samples. Sounds exciting? That's what scientists call beamtime: It's intense, exhausting, and chaotic but those sleepless nights often lead to the breakthroughs that keep us going! I realized that many of you are curious what really happens during beamtime, so I asked your to send in your beamtime questions, and you delivered! In the latest podcast episode, my colleague Sol and I take you inside a beamtime at the PSI and answer your questions: 📝 How to get beamtime? 🥱 How to manage 3 am sample change? 🦸🏽‍♀️ What superpower do we wish for during beamtimes? This episode is for all that are new to the concept of beamtimes and are curious about these large-scale facilities, where science meets adventure. 🚀 ⚛️ Want to come along?
Jul 1, 2025 · 34 min
(GERMAN) Episode #26: "Vom Labor in den Bundestag: Ein Physiker in der deutschen Politik" mit Dr. Markus Schleuning
Physik trifft Politik: Vom Labor direkt in den Deutschen Bundestag ⚛️🥼 ➡️ 🏛️🇩🇪 Wie fühlt es sich an, wenn man Schutzbrille gegen Aktentasche tauscht? Und wenn plötzlich nicht mehr Messdaten, sondern Gesetzestexte den Arbeitsalltag bestimmen? Dr. Markus Schleuning ist Physiker und hat genau diesen Schritt gewagt. Ein halbes Jahr lang hat er im Team von Thomas Heilmann (CDU) im Deutschen Bundestag mitgearbeitet. In der neuesten Folge von "Your Friendly Physicist and other Nerds" spricht Markus über seine Zeit im Bundestag und gibt spannende Einblicke ins politische Tagesgeschäft: 🔬 Welche Rolle spielt wissenschaftliches Denken in der Politik? 💼 Wie viel Einfluss haben eigentlich Lobbyisten? 🚀 Und was muss man wissen, wenn man selbst mal in die Politik möchte? Danke, Markus, für deine Offenheit! Wer noch mehr über Markus erfahren möchte, kann gerne mal bei Bundesverband Neue Energiewirtschaft e.V. (bne) vorbeischauen. Dort wird Markus als Pressesprecher weiterhin im politischen Umfeld aktiv sein. Ein großes Dankeschön geht auch an die Wilhelm und Else Heraeus-Stiftung, die solche Erfahrungen für junge Wissenschaftler*innen überhaupt erst möglich macht. 🙏🏼 #yourfriendlyphysicist #podcast #politik #CDU #KlimaUnion #Energiewende #Klimawandel
Apr 15, 2025 · 35 min
Episode #25: "Building a University on the Moon? Vision & Reality" with Lakshmi Karan
Let's build a university on the Moon. And you can be part of it! 🌖🎓 Lakshmi Karan is Vice Chair of the Galactic Council of LunARC and she has a mission: To democratize space exploration, so that all humans, and not just some billionaires, benefit from access to space. 💪🏽🚀 One idea to achieve this is to build a university on the Moon. But Lakshmi and LunARC aren't doing this on their own. They want you to be part of this. Why and how this works is now available in the latest episode of Your Friendly Physicist and other Nerds!
Feb 11, 2025 · 46 min
Episode #24: "Art on the Moon? Science Meets Creativity" with Dr. Priyanka Rajkakati
If you look at our Moon these days, would you think that it will soon be an extraterrestrial art exhibition? 🌗 🖼️ Priyanka Rajkakati, PhD is a scientist. And she is an artist. For her, that's not two sides of the same medal, but a complementary way of experiencing our world. As scientists, we often don't know what we are looking for (and where, and why, and when 😵‍💫). So, why not approaching these problems in a creative way? Her work has brought her to all seven continents, her art has been on the ISS and will soon land on the Moon with theFirefly Aerospace mission (fingers crossed). She has won numerous awards such as Forbes India 30 under 30 and L'Oréal Woman of Worth, and is an Alumni Ambassador of the Embassy of France in India. And most importantly, her unique approach of seeing science and art as a unity allows her to communicate the big stories of our time to a broad audience, thereby creating a much larger impact on the world. Thank you, Priyanka, for sharing your views with us! It was such a fun talk about sustainable space races, grasses from US golf courses in the Antarctica, and why we send art to space!#yourfriendlyphysicist
Jan 2, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
Episode #23: "Small Angles, Big Insights: Small-Angle Scattering Explained (Materials & Insights)" with Dr. Brian Pauw
Just two nerds talking about small-angle scattering 🤓 🤝 🤓 I am fully aware that this is a super nerdy topic, but if anyone can get you excited about the magic of scattering X-rays (or neutrons) at small angles, it's Brian Richard Pauw from Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung! 🙌 Tune in to find out why scattering is so powerful, what you can do with it, and where the hidden pitfalls lie ⚛️ And what do nerds love more than going down one rabbit hole? Right, going down the next rabbit hole! I love how after about 30 minutes, the episode slowly drifts away from scattering and circles around science communication, the dark side of science, and how to fight the inner imposter. It was a lot of fun talking to you Brian, thanks for joining in! 🙏
Dec 17, 2024 · 34 min
Episode #22: "Making the invisible visible: Materials and X-ray Science Tools!" with Dr. Florian Döring
“I started the company and 28 days later the world was ruined!" ☠️🌍 Florian Döring has quite some stories to tell: 🏭 Why and how he founded XRnanotech? 😷 What the pandemic meant for the company? 🦸🏼‍♂️ Which superpowers he wants to have as a CEO and how he makes the invisible visible? The full story is now available on your favorite podcast app! #yourfriendlyphysicist #podcast #science #research #startup #entrepreneur #swiss #interview
Oct 8, 2024 · 25 min
Episode #21: "A European University of the Future: Innovation at the University of Rijeka" with Prof. Saša Zelenika (University of Rijeka)
Prof. Saša Zelenika is Vice Rector for Strategic Projects at the University of Rijeka in Croatia. Together, we dive into how universities can foster real-world innovation and prepare students for dynamic careers by enhancing communication and collaboration between academia and industry. Professor Zelenika shares his experiences and vision for how the University of Rijeka is shaping the future through strategic projects, knowledge valorization, and cross-sector partnerships. Tune in for a fascinating discussion on leadership, education, and building a bridge between research and the economic sector.
Sep 4, 2024 · 32 min
Episode #20: "Can We Destroy the Universe? Quantum Physics Deep Dive" with Dr. Alessandro Zenesini
False Vacuum Decay! This term describes when a meta-stable quantum field (=False Vacuum) becomes a stable quantum field (=True Vacuum). This might happen at some time to the (maybe) meta-stable Higgs Field, and the consequences would be quite drastic: the annihilation of the entire universe ☠️😱 Kurzgesagt explained this concept already a couple of years ago, and recently, we turned their YouTube video into a 60s short video! (links are in the comments). Back then, I thought, no way, people would actually understand what we want to tell. But I it worked out great, and the final video highlights how powerful the combination of clear language and intuitive visuals can be. And still, False Vacuum Decay is such an exciting and dreadful topic, it's easy to get lost in the rabbit hole. Luckily, we don't have to explore this rabbit hole on our own: Dr. Alessandro Zenesini, scientist at the INO-CNR National Institute of Optics in Italy, took the time to guide us. Together we discuss the general concept of False Vacuum Decay, the consequences for us and the universe, why it might not necessarily be the end of the universe but also the start of a new one, how likely this scenario might happen, and why he is a big fan of kurzgesagt! Thank you, Alessandro for being an excellent guide and a great podcast guest!
Aug 1, 2024 · 35 min
Episode #19: "Can We Cure Allergies Forever? Science Behind Immunotherapy" with Aakash Shah (Wyndly)
Aakash has a mission: Cure allergies, forever! For this cause, he founded Wyndly, a raising US start-up. In this episode, we discuss the science behind Wyndly, what experiences he made along the way founding his company, and what differences we see between the US and the European start-up scene. For any questions to Aakash or me, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn or X.
Jul 10, 2024 · 7 min
Episode #18: "Natural Nuclear Reactors: When Earth Built a Fission Core!"
The very first nuclear reactors were not built by humans but by nature, roughly 2 billion years ago! In this short episode, you will find out how these reactors were discovered, how they worked, and why they are still relevant for current technologies. This story is a great reminder that nature is full of surprises and has been conducting its own experiments long before we came along. 🌎🌊⚛️ Disclaimer: The topic of nature-created reactors was first sketched out for a TikTok video by "in a nutshell – kurzgesagt GmbH". In the course of my freelance work for them, we developed the topic further together, and eventually I turned it into this short podcast episode.
Jun 8, 2024 · 41 min
Episode #17: "Utilizing CO2 for a greener world!" with Dr. Panashe Mhembere
CO2 is everywhere! In the atmosphere as well as in everybody's mind. So what, if we simply take CO2 and transform it into something useful? Wouldn't that solve a lot of problems? Exactly this is the idea of the British start-up ViridiCO2. I had the pleasure to sit down with their Co-founder and Senior development chemist Panashe Mhembere to talk about how this works! Tune in into the amazing story of Panashe and ViridiCO2 to learn about: 🌍 How to utilize CO2 and turn it into something useful! ♻️ How ViridiCO2 contributes to a circular economy! 💪🏽 What main challenges this brings! 🤓 Why it is a good thing to follow your inner nerd! Still have any questions left? Get in touch with me via LinkedIn or lucas.kreuzer@frm2.tum.de
May 3, 2024 · 59 min
Episode #16: "Can Scientists Found Startups? How to Go From Lab to Market!" with Dr. Sarah Jessl (TUM Venture Lab)
Can scientists found a start-up? I had the pleasure to discuss this question with Sarah Jessl, PhD, current director of the ChemSPACE of TUM Venture Labs at Technische Universität München in this episode. We talked a lot about the huge ecosystem of the TUM Venture lab and how it supports students turning a scientific idea into entrepreneurial impact. Sarah explained why it is a good idea to think about commercialization potentials already during the early stages of your research, and where to find the right persons to talk to at the right time. So, if you have ever wondered: 🚀 How to found a start-up 🚀 Where to find support and resources for your start-up/scientific idea 🚀 How to set up a business plan, marketing strategy, etc. 🚀 What common mistakes to avoid ...then this episode is for you. Get comfy and tune in for detailed insights into the world of start-ups, deep-tech entrepreneurship, and amazing science cases that started small and are now solving a lot of problems world-wide. #entrepreneurship #startups #venturecapital #innovation #investing #business #science #research #socialentrepreneurs #podcast #interview
Apr 1, 2024 · 46 min
Episode #15: "The academic publishing system" with Dr. Christian Kuttner
Christian Kuttner did his PhD at the University of Bayreuth and continued as a postdoc and Marie Curie Fellow at the IPF Dresden and the University of San Sebastian, before he joined the Springer Nature Group and became an Editor at Nature Communications. In this episode, he shares with us the reasons why he switched from 'content creation to content curation', and what the actual role of academic journals is. We also discuss, why publishing in certain journals like Nature or Science costs money, what you as an author should do when you want to publish in Nature, and how the future of academic publishing will look like. The key messages you will find in this episode are: 📓 What is the purpose of journals and why does it cost (a lot of) money? 📓 What skills are helpful to become an editor? 📓 How to write a Nature paper? 📓 What is a predatory journal and how to identify them? 📓 How will publishing look like in the future? Tune in for a great overview of how the academic publishing system works and what it takes to become a scientific editor at a high rank journal. If you have any questions left, or if you disagree with some of our opinions, let us know in the comment section or simply reach out to me (LinkedIn, X, or Instagram).
Mar 1, 2024 · 21 min
Episode #14: "Science in zero-gravity!"
This week, on Tuesday, 27th of February, the Mapheus-14 rocket launched in Kiruna, Sweden and brought around 400 kg into space to do science in zero-gravity. On board were 14 experiments on materials research, manufacturing, and biomedicine to find out how the brain regenerates and how microgravity affects the central nervous system. Congratulations to a successful launch and rocket campaign! 🚀🙌🏼🥳 To celebrate this, I did a special podcast episode about science in zero-gravity! So, if you have ever wondered: - What possibilities are there to create a zero-gravity environment? - How does science in zero gravity works? - What can we learn from these experiments? - Why we are investing so many resources in these experiments then this episode is for you. Fasten your seatbelts, get comfy, and tune in! We are going to space and zero-gravity! 🚀🛰️
Feb 2, 2024 · 39 min
Episode #13: "Bridging industry and academia" with Dr. Valérie André
Valérie Andre studied Physics at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, before she joined the big chemistry company BASF in Ludwigshafen, Germany. As a Senior Manager for Scouting and Strategy at BASF, she was responsible for the relationships of BASF with universities and research institutes. In this episode, Valerie shares some inspiring insights on how to bridge the gap between the industry and academic world, providing a unique perspective that's of great interest to anyone looking to make their mark in both academia and industry. 🎓💼 💡 How to find a common language? 💡 How to set up a productive and supporting environment for PhD or master students in industry? 💡 Why is it essential to keep knowledge and expertise while parallelly gathering new and fresh ideas? 💡 Why is fundamental research (without any application in mind) so important for our society? Whether you're a student, professional, or someone just curious about the crossroads of academia and industry, this episode is packed with gems to help you thrive in both domains. If you have any questions, simply reach out to me via LinkedIn or X.
Jan 1, 2024 · 19 min
Episode #12: "How to Save Coral Reefs? Science, Restoration & Hope" with Bigs Eggert
Coral reefs are important ecosystems and biodiversity hotspots. Many species of fish, invertebrates, and other organisms depend on coral reefs for their survival. 🐠 🦑 🦀 🐚 Also, coral reefs help to stabilize the global climate: They absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change. And they act as natural barriers that help protect coastlines from erosion and storm damage. 🌀 🌪 Sadly, more and more coral reefs die, due to warmer and more acidic oceans, overly destructive fishing methods, and plastic waste. But there is also some good news: Many projects around the globe have the mission to regrow and restore coral reefs. Last week, I visited one of these projects - the Amun Ini Coral Reef Restoration Project, which is located in the Philippines. Together with the co-founder Bigs Eggert, I discussed how to regrow corals, what challenges this brings along, and why the Amun Ini project is not only important for the ocean but also for the local community here in the Philippines. A special thanks go to Philip Hollerbach for the drone shots of the coral reef and the excellent organization of the recording session! On my Instagram Channel, you can find some pictures and videos of the Amun Ini project! If you have any questions left to Bigs or me, feel free to reach out to me or leave a comment here on Spotify! #science #research #physics #chemistry #biology #nature #environment #sustainability #ocean #climate #climatechange #experiment #technology #coral #interview #academia #scicomm #podcast #podcaster
Dec 1, 2023 · 34 min
Episode #11: "What are quantum dots?" with Prof. Wei Chen
Quantum dots! 🚀 🔬 👩‍🔬 This term was first coined by the physicist Mark Reed, and I think he did a pretty good job: with the buzzword 'quantum' it sounds super fancy, and still, no one really knows what it means. But, quantum nanodots are important: This year, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded The Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Louis E. Brus, Aleksey Yekimov, Moungi G. Bawendi, and their research groups for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots. Congratulations 🎉 🏆 👩‍🔬 👨‍🔬 But what exactly are quantum dots? Why is their size so important? Where do we find quantum dots in our everyday life? And why is Elon Musk quite happy quantum dots exist? All of these questions I discussed with Prof. Wei Chen from Shenzhen Technology University in the latest episode of my podcast. Tune in for a fascinating journey into the land of quantum effects. Along the way, we will meet strange creatures like bandgaps, semiconductors, and perovskite crystals. But Wei is an excellent quantum dot scientist: After receiving his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Hubei University, Wei joined the Chair of Functional Materials at the Technical University of Munich. There he did his PhD on quantum dot-based materials. Currently, he runs the Energy & Photonics Lab (EPL) at Shenzhen Technology University and starts his own commercial, based on novel quantum dot technology. #ScienceCommunication #SciComm #science #research #physics #chemistry #technology #tesla #elonmusk #experiment #academia #podcast #podcasting
Nov 1, 2023 · 59 min
Episode #10: "How to become a physics show-master!" with Dr. Matthias Salewski
Matthias studied solid-state physics in Dortmund and did his PhD with a focus on optical spectroscopy of semiconductor nanostructures. Besides being a scientist, Matthias is also a great communicator. As a Physikant, he combines both, science and communication, and brings physics into the spotlight. And he thinks big! There is no fire tornado, imploding oil barrel, or thermodynamic water column that is too large for him and his shows! What actually is a Physikant and what is he doing? What does it look like behind the scenes of a Physikanten show, and how do the experiments work? Tune in for an exciting story about how to demonstrate complex physical phenomena in an enthusiastic and approachable way! And spoiler alert: Matthias even brought an experiment, which he performed live on the show. He indeed is a great science showmaster! If you have questions or feedback for Matthias or me, feel free to use the Spotify Comment Section below or to drop me a short message. You can find me either on, Instagram (@dr_lucaskreuzer) Twitter (⁠⁠⁠@friendly_phys⁠⁠⁠), or ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠. Homepage of 'Die Physikanten' https://www.physikanten.de/ BIG STEM Communication Network https://www.big.uk.com