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Regina G. Barber Regina G. Barber is Short Wave's Scientist in Residence.
Regina Barber, photographed for NPR, 6 June 2022, in Washington DC. Photo by Farrah Skeiky for NPR.
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Regina G. Barber

Regina Barber, photographed for NPR, 6 June 2022, in Washington DC. Photo by Farrah Skeiky for NPR.
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Farrah Skeiky/NPR
Regina Barber, photographed for NPR, 6 June 2022, in Washington DC. Photo by Farrah Skeiky for NPR.
Farrah Skeiky/NPR

Regina G. Barber

Scientist in Residence, Short Wave

Regina G. Barber is Short Wave's Scientist in Residence. She contributes original reporting on STEM and guest hosts the show.

Barber completed her PhD in physics in 2011 at Washington State University with a focus in astrophysics, studying globular cluster systems. She taught physics and astronomy at Western Washington University from 2013-2021, where she continues to hold the role as WWU's first STEM Inclusion and Outreach Specialist. In this role, Barber organizes programs to recruit and retain underrepresented faculty and students in STEM fields. She was also the Host and Executive Producer of the podcast Spark Science, featuring interviews with STEM professionals. For seven seasons, she mentored a student production team in science communication and storytelling.

Barber has spent the last decade combining racial and gender equity, science and pop culture into one career. In 2019, she won WWU's Womxn of Color Empowerment Faculty Award. She is also an alumna of the SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science) Leadership Institute and a former Jackson Wild Media Lab Fellow.

Coming from academia, she loves the fast-paced, team-focused environment at Short Wave. She also loves TV, cartoons, robots and fandoms.

Story Archive

Monday

Venus and Earth: A tale of two 'twins'

This computer-generated 3D model of Venus' surface shows the summit of Maat Mons, the volcano that is exhibiting signs of activity. A new study found one of Maat Mons' vents became enlarged and changed shape over an eight-month period in 1991, indicating an eruptive event occurred. NASA/JPL-Caltech hide caption

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

Short Wave

Venus and Earth: A tale of two 'twins'

Planetary scientists announced some big news this week about our next-door neighbor, Venus. For the first time, they had found direct evidence that Venus has active, ongoing volcanic activity.

Venus and Earth: A tale of two 'twins'

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Thursday

What is life? For scientists, asking is easier than answering

LOS ANGELES - JAN 8: Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data in the STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION episode, "The Hunted." Season 3, ep 11. Original air date, 1/8/90. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images) CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images hide caption

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CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images

Short Wave

What is life? For scientists, asking is easier than answering

In this Back To School episode we consider the "List of Life": the criteria that define what it is to be a living thing. Some are easy calls: A kitten is alive. A grain of salt is not. But what about the tricky cases, like a virus? Or, more importantly, what about futuristic android robots? As part of our Black History Month celebration, developmental biologist Crystal Rogers and scientist-in-residence Regina G. Barber dig into what makes something alive, and wade into a Star-Trek-themed debate.

What is life? For scientists, asking is easier than answering

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Wednesday

After another earthquake in Turkey, what scientists know about aftershocks

A 6.4-magnitude quake hit the Hatay province in southern Turkey, in Antakya, on February 21 — two weeks after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit near Gaziantep, Turkey, in the early hours of February 6, followed by another 7.5-magnitude tremor shortly thereafter. The initial quakes caused widespread destruction in southern Turkey and northern Syria and has killed more than 44,000 people. Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images

Short Wave

After another earthquake in Turkey, what scientists know about aftershocks

Monday another earthquake struck southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border. This time, the quake registered as a magnitude 6.3 — an order lower than the initial, devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake and the magnitude 7.5 aftershock that struck the area two weeks ago on Feb. 6. A magnitude 6.3 is still considered strong, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). And as NPR previously reported, some locals were inside buildings trying to recover belongings lost in the initial quake when Monday's aftershock hit.

After another earthquake in Turkey, what scientists know about aftershocks

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Friday

News Round Up: FDA chocolate assessment, a powerful solar storm and fly pheromones
NASA/SDO

Short Wave

News Round Up: FDA chocolate assessment, a powerful solar storm and fly pheromones

After reading the science headlines this week, we have A LOT of questions. Is chocolate really that good for your health? How do solar flares affect life on earth? And what's the big deal about scientists identifying the chemical motivation for tsetse fly sex? Luckily, it's the job of Short Wave co-hosts Emily Kwong and Aaron Scott and Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber to decipher the science behind the headlines. Hang out with us as we dish on some of the coolest science stories in this Valentines-themed installment of our regular newsy get-togethers!

News Round Up: FDA chocolate assessment, a powerful solar storm and fly pheromones

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Wednesday

A newly identified type of tomato has been hiding in plain sight

Tanisha Williams and Chris Martine examine an Australian bush tomato in the Rooke Science Building greenhouse. Emily Paine/Bucknell University hide caption

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Emily Paine/Bucknell University

Short Wave

A newly identified type of tomato has been hiding in plain sight

A few years ago, a team of scientists set out on a field expedition in the rugged, dry Northern Territory of Australia. There, they found a plant that was both strange and familiar hiding in plain sight. After careful research during the pandemic, the newly described tomato recently made its debut in PhytoKeys, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal. Today, Short Wave Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber talks to lead author Tanisha Williams about the plant's journey from the side of a trail in the Australian Outback to a greenhouse in rural Pennsylvania.

A newly identified type of tomato has been hiding in plain sight

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Friday

Scientists shoot lasers into the sky to deflect lightning

A photograph taken from the French riviera city of Nice, shows lightning flashes in a supercell thunderstorm over the Mediterranean sea in August 2022. Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images

Short Wave

Scientists shoot lasers into the sky to deflect lightning

Every year, lightning is estimated to cause up to 24,000 deaths globally. It starts forest fires, burns buildings and crops, and causes disruptive power outages. The best, most practical technology available to deflect lightning is the simple lightning rod, created by Benjamin Franklin more than 250 years ago. But lightning rods protect only a very limited area proportional to their height. So today's show, why a group of European researchers are hoping the 21 century upgrade is a high-powered laser. Plus: Regina makes incremental progress on conquering her irrational fear of lightning.

Scientists shoot lasers into the sky to deflect lightning

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Tuesday

Who gets the first peek at the secrets of the universe?

Clouds of material funnel into a growing protostar, photographed in near-infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope Observatory. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI hide caption

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NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Short Wave

Who gets the first peek at the secrets of the universe?

The James Webb Space Telescope is by far the most powerful space-based telescope ever deployed by the United States. But it is only one instrument, and scientists all over the world have to share. The JWST's managers received more than 1,600 research proposals for what the telescope should look at.

Who gets the first peek at the secrets of the universe?

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Monday

What physical blind spots can teach us about social blind spots

Physicist Desiré Whitmore teaches workshops to help teachers better communicate science. As part of that, Desiré uses optical illusions to explain how social blind spots come into play in the classroom. Scott Barbour/Getty Images for NGV hide caption

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Scott Barbour/Getty Images for NGV

Short Wave

What physical blind spots can teach us about social blind spots

Everyone sees the world differently. Exactly which colors you see and which of your eyes is doing more work than the other as you read this text is different for everyone. Also different? Our blind spots – both physical and social. As we continue celebrating Black History Month, today we're featuring Exploratorium Staff Physicist Educator Desiré Whitmore. She shines a light on human eyesight – how it affects perception and how understanding another person's view of the world can offer us a fuller, better picture of life.

What physical blind spots can teach us about social blind spots

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Thursday

6 doctors swallowed Lego heads for science. Here's what came out
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Short Wave

6 doctors swallowed Lego heads for science. Here's what came out

As an emergency physician at Western Health, in Melbourne, Australia, Dr. Andy Tagg says he meets a lot of anxious parents whose children have swallowed Lego pieces. Much like Andy so many years ago, the vast majority of kids simply pass the object through their stool within a day or so. But Andy and five other pediatricians wondered, is there a way to give parents extra reassurance ... through science?

6 doctors swallowed Lego heads for science. Here's what came out

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Wednesday

Time is so much weirder than it seems
LUVLIMAGE/Getty Images

Short Wave

Time is so much weirder than it seems

Time is a concept so central to our daily lives. Yet, the closer scientists look at it, the more it seems to fall apart. Time ticks by differently at sea level than it does on a mountaintop. The universe's expansion slows time's passage. "And some scientists think time might not even be 'real' — or at least not fundamental," says NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel. Geoff joined Short Wave Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber to bend our brains with his learnings about the true nature of time. Along the way, we visit the atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, consider distant exploding stars and parse the remains of subatomic collisions.

Time is so much weirder than it seems

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Tuesday

Space

An astronaut tells NPR what life is like on the ISS

Short Wave's scientist in residence Regina Barber talks with NASA astronaut Josh Cassada about daily life on the International Space Station.

An astronaut tells NPR what life is like on the ISS

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Friday

Humans want to make everything better — but sometimes different is just as good
Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images

Short Wave

Humans want to make everything better — but sometimes different is just as good

Are humans ever satisfied? Two social psychologists, Ethan Ludwin-Peery and Adam Mastroianni, fell down a research rabbit hole accidentally answering a version of this very question. After conducting several studies, the pair found that when asked how things could be different, people tend to give one kind of answer, regardless of how the question is asked or how good life felt when they were asked. Short Wave's Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber digs into the research—and how it might reveal a fundamental law of psychology about human satisfaction.

Humans want to make everything better — but sometimes different is just as good

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Monday

Redlining's Ripple Effects Go Beyond Humans

In urban areas, redlining has continuing effects on wildlife as well as people. Ali Majdfar/Getty Images hide caption

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Ali Majdfar/Getty Images

Short Wave

Redlining's Ripple Effects Go Beyond Humans

When Dr. Chloé Schmidt was a PhD student in Winnepeg, Canada, she was studying wildlife in urban areas. She and her advisor Dr. Colin Garroway came across a 2020 paper that posed a hypothesis: If the echos of systemic racism affect the human residents of neighborhoods and cities, then it should affect the wildlife as well. Short Wave Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber talks to Chloé and Colin about their findings of how redlining and biodiversity are intertwined.

Redlining's Ripple Effects Go Beyond Humans

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Wednesday

What do astronauts do all day? We talked to one 250 miles above Earth to find out

NASA astronaut Josh Cassada recently spoke to Short Wave Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber from the International Space Station (ISS). As he orbited Earth, they discussed some of the science experiments happening aboard the ISS. The experiments span multiple scientific fields including physics and biology. NASA/Screenshot by NPR hide caption

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NASA/Screenshot by NPR

Short Wave

What do astronauts do all day? We talked to one 250 miles above Earth to find out

Speaking to Short Wave from about 250 miles above the Earth, Josh Cassada outlined his typical day at work: "Today, I actually started out by taking my own blood," he said. The astronauts aboard the International Space Station are themselves research subjects, as well as conductors of all sorts of science experiments: Gardening in microgravity, trapping frigid atoms, examining neutron stars. Then, there's the joy of walks into the yawning void of space. Speaking from orbit, Cassada told fellow physicist and Short Wave Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber about research aboard the station, what it takes to keep the ISS going and which countries' astronauts make the best food.

What do astronauts do all day? We talked to one 250 miles above Earth to find out

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Thursday

The Woman Behind A Mystery That Changed Astronomy

Jocelyn Bell Burnell attends the 2019 Breakthrough Prize at NASA Ames Research Center on November 4, 2018 in Mountain View, California. Kimberly White / Getty Images for Breakthrough Pr hide caption

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Kimberly White / Getty Images for Breakthrough Pr

Short Wave

The Woman Behind A Mystery That Changed Astronomy

In 1967, Jocelyn Bell Burnell made a discovery that revolutionized astronomy. She detected the radio signals emitted by certain dying stars called pulsars. Today, Jocelyn's story. Scientist-in-residence Regina G. Barber talks to Jocelyn about her winding career, her discovery and how pulsars continue to push the field of astronomy today. (encore)

The Woman Behind A Mystery That Changed Astronomy

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Thursday

A Step Closer To Nuclear Fusion Energy

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm announces a major scientific breakthrough in fusion research that was made at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, during a news conference on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption

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J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Short Wave

A Step Closer To Nuclear Fusion Energy

On Dec. 5 at 1 o'clock in the morning local time, researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California used lasers to zap a tiny pellet of hydrogen fuel. The lasers hit their target with 2.05 megajoules of energy, and the pellet released roughly 3.15 megajoules. It's a major milestone, and one that the field of fusion science has struggled to reach for more than half a century: producing a fusion reaction that generates more energy than it consumes. While progress, the technology is still a ways off from its promise to produce energy without creating greenhouse gases. Today on the show, Regina G. Barber brings us two NPR stories that explain what this experiment showed and what else needs to happen to make fusion a practical energy source.

A Step Closer To Nuclear Fusion Energy

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Friday

DART: The Impacts Of Slamming A Spacecraft Into An Asteroid

Illustration of DART, from behind the NEXT–C ion engine NASA/Johns Hopkins APL hide caption

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NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

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DART: The Impacts Of Slamming A Spacecraft Into An Asteroid

If an asteroid were hurling through space, making a beeline straight to Earth, how would humans prevent it from doing what it did to the dinosaurs? Would we bomb it? Would we shoot lasers at it like a scene from Hollywood's latest sci-fi flick? Well, the folks at NASA have designed and tested a theory.

DART: The Impacts Of Slamming A Spacecraft Into An Asteroid

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Wednesday

What Makes Hawaii's Erupting Volcanoes Special

Lava flows from the Mauna Loa volcano on December 4, 2022 near Hilo, Hawaii. Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano in the world. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Short Wave

What Makes Hawaii's Erupting Volcanoes Special

Just after Thanksgiving, for the first time in almost 40 years, Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano erupted. It's one of several ongoing eruptions – including Kilauea, also on Hawaii, and Indonesia's Mount Semeru. At just over half the size of the big island of Hawaii, Mauna Loa is the world's biggest active volcano.

What Makes Hawaii's Erupting Volcanoes Special

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Sunday

In the hunt for a male contraceptive, scientists look to stop sperm in their tracks
filo/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

In the hunt for a male contraceptive, scientists look to stop sperm in their tracks

For decades birth control research focused on women. Now there's a new push to develop gels, pills or other products that could keep men from getting their partners pregnant.

In the hunt for a male contraceptive, scientists look to stop sperm in their tracks

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Monday

Corey Gray Is Picking Up Cosmic Vibrations

Artist's illustration of two merging neutron stars. A. Simonnet/NSF/LIGO/Sonoma State University hide caption

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A. Simonnet/NSF/LIGO/Sonoma State University

Short Wave

Corey Gray Is Picking Up Cosmic Vibrations

A pivotal week in Corey Gray's life began with a powwow in Alberta and culminated with a piece of history: the first-ever detection of gravitational waves from the collision of two neutron stars. Corey was on the graveyard shift at LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Observatory in Hanford, Washington, when the historic signal came. Corey tells Short Wave Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber about the discovery, the "Gravitational Wave Grass Dance Special" that preceded it, and how he got his Blackfoot name.

Corey Gray Is Picking Up Cosmic Vibrations

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Tuesday

Traditional Plant Knowledge Is Not A Quick Fix

Ethnobotany is the study of the relationship between humans and plants. Stefania Pelfini, La Waziya Phot / Getty Images hide caption

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Stefania Pelfini, La Waziya Phot / Getty Images

Short Wave

Traditional Plant Knowledge Is Not A Quick Fix

Regina G. Barber talks with Dr. Rosalyn LaPier about ethnobotany--what it is and how traditional plant knowledge is frequently misunderstood in the era of COVID and psychedelics. And, how it's relevant and important for reproductive health today.

Traditional Plant Knowledge Is Not A Quick Fix

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Monday

New Discoveries In Underwater Plant Sex

Blue Christmas Tree Worm, Spirobranchus giganteus, Namena Marine Reserve, Fiji Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images hide caption

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Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images

Short Wave

New Discoveries In Underwater Plant Sex

Plants living underwater can't count on pollinating insects to get it on. The prevailing theory has been that pollen moves underwater simply by floating around in water currents. But a team of researchers co-led by Dr. Vivianne Solís-Weiss, have discovered a helper organism pitching in to pollinate seagrasses: marine worms. In today's episode, Vivianne tells Short Wave Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber how she happened to catch these worms, called polychaetes, in the act of pollinating seagrass flowers underwater, and how the discovery is shedding new light on evolution in the oceans.

New Discoveries In Underwater Plant Sex

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Wednesday

Beyond Condoms!

The last male contraceptive to hit the market was the condom — about 200 years ago. Now, there are several hormonal and non-hormonal male contraceptives in early trial stages. Researchers are pursuing everything from oral pills to injections and gels. Peter Dazeley/Getty Images hide caption

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Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

Short Wave

Beyond Condoms!

Contraceptive research has historically prioritized women because they bear the burden of pregnancy and most contraceptive options available today are for women. But there are efforts to widen the contraceptive responsibility. Today, Scientist-in-Residence Regina G. Barber talks to host Emily Kwong about the state of research into male contraceptives and which method researchers expect to hit the market first.

Beyond Condoms!

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Tuesday

Choose Your Own (Math) Adventure
CSA Images/Getty Images/Vetta

Short Wave

Choose Your Own (Math) Adventure

Ever read those Choose Your Own Adventure books of the 80s and 90s? As a kid, Dr. Pamela Harris was hooked on them. Years later she realized how much those books have in common with her field: combinatorics, the branch of math concerned with counting. It, too, depends on thinking through endless, branching possibilities. She and several students set out to write a scholarly paper in the style of Choose Your Own Adventure books. Dr. Harris tells Regina G. Barber all about how the project began, how it gets complicated when you throw in wormholes and clowns, and why math is fundamentally a creative act.

Choose Your Own (Math) Adventure

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