HRL’s History of the Future Podcast Launches

World-Class Research Facility HRL Laboratories Will Invite Guests and Tap Current and Former Hughes Research Staff to Relate Its Storied History of Scientific Discovery

HRL Laboratories, LLC, has announced the launch of its first podcast, HRL’s History of the Future, which will focus on the famed Hughes Research facility’s past and HRL’s present advancements in science and technology. HRL hopes to target an audience interested in science and engineering, but who are not necessarily experts. Interviews with doctorate-level researchers will be conducted by a non-scientist host with questions that appeal to the curiosity of students and the lay public.

Podcast guests will include current and past HRL researchers as well as outside scientists whose research ties in with HRL’s mission, or is of potential interest to HRL’s audience. Podcast themes will encompass the wide range of research conducted at HRL, including microelectronics and semiconductors, leading-edge materials development and fabrication, sensors and optics, advanced electromagnetics, and multiple facets of advanced computer science, algorithms, and machine learning. Experts from different eras will highlight the many scientific milestones reached at HRL over the decades, and current staff will discuss advances being made today, as well as looking forward to what may come in HRL’s future.

“HRL originally started out as a secluded research arm created by Howard Hughes for his aircraft company,” said HRL President and CEO Parney Albright. “Almost as soon as they moved into the current location in 1960, HRL became the birthplace of the first successful laser. The rapid demonstration of cutting-edge technologies has been in our culture and pervades our present work. Today HRL is co-owned by General Motors and Boeing, world-class engineering and manufacturing entities that drive our research into areas such as autonomous vehicles, new structural and electronic materials, and advancements in radar and infrared sensing. With this rich tradition of scientific inquiry and technological advancement, it was an easy decision to launch a podcast that celebrates our tradition of discovery.”

Podcast guest: Bill Leslie. © 2017 HRL Laboratories.

“We hope to let the public know about science at HRL in an inspiring and educational way,” said HRL Vice President Leslie Momoda. “A podcast can be a fun and interesting way to bring important subject matter to the public. We hope to bring an interesting perspective to listeners by leveraging our vast scientific experience and expertise on a level that can be understood by the average high-school student.”

Guests are invited to HRL’s scenic Malibu campus to be interviewed for the podcast. The premier episode will feature Professor Stuart “Bill” Leslie from the Department of History of Science and Technology at Johns Hopkins University. An episode list is available at podcast.hrl.com.

HRL’s History of the Future is available for free on Libsyn.com and iTunes.

HRL Laboratories, LLC, Malibu, California (hrl.com) is a corporate research-and-development laboratory owned by The Boeing Company and General Motors specializing in research into sensors and materials, information and systems sciences, applied electromagnetics, and microelectronics. HRL provides custom research and development and performs additional R&D contract services for its LLC member companies, the U.S. government, and other commercial companies.

Media Inquiries: media[at]hrl.com, (310) 317-5000