In this second episode of *Chronicles of a Science Experiment*, EarthSky’s Jorge Salazar continues his conversation with Aaron Strickland, a Fellow of the National Science Foundation Discovery Corps and a post-doctoral chemist at Cornell University. Strickland’s research project is in nanotechnology, the science of the very small.

In this episode, Aaron talks about his science experiment with proteins, which are molecules which give living cells their structure, fuel their growth, and enable them to reproduce. He studies the bacteria E-coli, which forms a layer of proteins at its surface, what Aaron calls the ‘s-layer.’ It’s at the s-layer where nano-sized structures appear, one-ten thousandth the width of a human hair.

What Aaron discovers in the lab about protein formation on the surface of bacteria could be applied in the real world, such as in making computers smaller and faster.

Our thanks to Aaron Strickland, National Science Foundation Discovery Corps Fellow and Cornell University chemist. Carl Batt of Cornell created the concept for this program.

Made possible by the National Science Foundation