BE A BALLER -"Building a lifelong legacy"

Dr. Frederic Bertley: From Childhood Curiosity to Leading Science Innovation - Fashion, Diversity, and Building a Legacy in STEM Education

• Coach Tim Brown, Uncommon Life • Season 4 • Episode 8

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Dr. Frederic Bertley, the charismatic CEO of the Center of Science and Industry, takes us on a captivating journey from his adventurous childhood mishap with a video game and a lamp cord to leading one of the most respected science centers in the U.S. We explore how these early sparks of curiosity ignited his passion for science, proving that even the most unexpected experiences can set the stage for a lifelong commitment to discovery. This episode is packed with tales of wonder and inspiration, as Dr. Bertley shares how these formative moments can encourage young minds to explore the vast potential within STEM fields.

While sports icons like LeBron James and cultural figures like Beyoncé steal the spotlight, there’s an urgent need for scientists and engineers to gain recognition for their groundbreaking contributions to society. Dr. Bertley passionately discusses this challenge and how his initiatives, such as the Free Science All Day Community Days, aim to elevate the visibility and appreciation of the scientific community. He invites us to rethink how we perceive scientists, promoting a narrative where scientific achievement is celebrated and accessible to all, especially in communities that often lack representation in these fields.

Fashion, diversity, and science intersect in delightful ways as Dr. Bertley illustrates how personal style can complement scientific identity rather than conform to stereotypes. From his favorite Jordans to the importance of visible role models, he highlights how these elements can resonate with and inspire individuals from all walks of life. By blending hip-hop influences with an educational mission, Dr. Bertley is pioneering efforts to make STEM engaging and relatable, particularly for students in underserved areas. Through hands-on experiences and innovative media projects, he is opening doors for the next generation to embrace global opportunities and create their own inspiring legacies in the world of science.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Be A Baller podcast where we discuss how to build a lifelong legacy. I'm your host, coach Tim Brown. Today, I'm excited to have on the show with me Dr Frederick Burtley. Dr Burtley is an immunologist and science educator. He is currently the president of CEO, which is the Center of Science and Industry, a science museum in Columbus, ohio. Prior to COSI, dr Berkley worked as Senior Vice President for Science and Education at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Dr B is also an award-winning host of an animated YouTube show, Dr B in 3, and a television show, qed with Dr B.

Speaker 2:

Here's some cool science from COSI, an official science partner of our Columbus Blue Jackets. Physicist Isaac Newton would have loved hockey. Why? Because it clearly proves his third law of motion For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. Who knew? Well, isaac Newton did. I'm a huge fan of hockey and all this time it was Newtonian physics at work. Want more science in your life? Visit cosiorg.

Speaker 1:

Today on the show, dr B will share his love for science and his commitment to inspiring young learners to be curious about the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Speaker 2:

Dr Berkley, welcome to your Ballot Podcast. Coach Brown, thank you so much for inviting me to participate on your incredible podcast series. Pleasure to be here. Thanks, sir.

Speaker 1:

I had a question for you. I knew you grew up in Canada Now did you always have a love of science?

Speaker 2:

That's a funny story. So a little more background before the love of science. So my parents are from the Caribbean, my dad's from Trinidad, my mom's from Barbados, and they met in Montreal and then had four kids. And I like to say I'm the oops baby's younger brother. Ok, so the brother above me, he was a baby. I was oops.

Speaker 2:

My mother was when-40s when I came out definitely not planned um, but but grew up in canada and so I was an outdoorsy kid. I was not a schooly kid. I like to play hockey, soccer, basketball, baseball, football, skateboard. When I came in, even bmx and skiing, like I was, was just outdoors kid. But I had a.

Speaker 2:

I had a paper route and, being being the son of West Indian children, even though West Indian parents, even though the paper was my paper route, and collect my little $5 a week or whatever it was, that wasn't my money, that needed to go into my bank account. I was not allowed to spend it. They were like you, save your money, put it in the bank. I was like, all right, and then when I was 10 years old Coach Brown, I don't know I'm dating myself, but one of the first handheld video games came out. You might remember it's called Calico Head-to-Head Football. They had Head-to-Head Football and Head-to-Head Baseball and I wanted to get this game.

Speaker 2:

My friends had it down the street. They had it. My parents were like, no, you can't buy it, save your money. Finally, I just begged and begged and finally they let me buy it. And so I bought it. And you know, back then these handheld games weren't energy efficient. It took those square batteries, those 9-volt batteries. You know the ones. I'm sure you did as Coach Brown. You stick out your tongue and you zap your tongue to feel that little sting. Make sure you're laughing.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I see you laughing, that's exactly right. So yeah, so it took those batteries, but it would chew through those batteries real quick and I couldn't afford to get new batteries, and so I did what I thought was a smart idea at the time. I went down to our basement. We had an old lamp that wasn't in use. When I cut off the cable of the lamp, the part did the part you plug in the wall, and I opened up the back of the game. I ripped off that little snap cap that snaps on that nine volt battery. It's a red and black wire. I attached it to the, to the lamp cord, and I coached around.

Speaker 2:

True story, I remember it like it was today. I plugged it into the wall, worked best 10 seconds of my life. By the 11th second, though, there was a char and spark at the outlet. My beautiful game that my parents let me buy my money actually got charred and fried. So I ruined my game and I was bummed. But I remember thinking after, despite being bummed.

Speaker 2:

I remember thinking that, wow, this electricity stuff that as a kid I just been taking for granted that you flick on a switch and the lights come on, or you plug something in the wall and it works. I was like there's something really interesting behind the walls. It just literally and metaphorically sparked my curiosity and that's what got me hooked on science and the natural universe. I then began to be obsessed with why does this work? Why is the grass green? Why are ladybugs this way? Why does a caterpillar have so many legs? Why, why, why, why, why. And I became that annoying kid that was always asking the adults in the room why, why, why. But that got me hooked on understanding, kind of just, nature and the natural universe and that's what got me hooked in science. So I didn't shoot out being a scientist or scientifically inclined kid. I was a sports kid. But when I destroyed my cherished video game, that's when okay, there's something cool here going on.

Speaker 1:

There's a story about your dad's reaction to that. Oh there is Okay.

Speaker 2:

So he comes running down the stairs now you know he's from Trinidad, but he lived in Canada at this point, like 30 years or something. He only had a West Indian accent when he wanted to have one and he comes running down the stairs like son, what are you doing? You're trying to burn down the house and I'm like no, no. But after that I mean, what's really cool about my parents is, even though he definitely was a little irritated at that, overall they were just so supportive, and now they had this weird wacky kid that was interested in and in science and they supported me in whatever way I wanted to move forward. So but yeah, that was a funny parent experience for sure.

Speaker 1:

You know were you? Were you always a science fair champion? Were you the champion of science fairs?

Speaker 2:

You know. So that's a funny story. So in Canada, in the US, science fairs are a big deal. In Canada now they are a big deal. When I was growing up, it mattered on what school you went to, so if you didn't go to a school that did them, you didn't do them. So I believe you're not. I've never, ever, participated myself as a student in the science fair Never. I got into science fairs only as an adult. When I started teaching. I taught in elementary school, high school and then I taught colleges as well. But in my elementary and high school period was when I was working with students on their science fairs, and then I became a what's called a national actually in this country as well a national science fair judge, and so, even though I love science fairs today, I think they're so important at letting all kids, regardless of background, zip code, gender, to get access to like doing some fun hands-on stuff. I actually didn't do that as a kiddo, which is interesting.

Speaker 1:

You know now, was science cool with you and your friends? Was that the cool thing to do?

Speaker 2:

Absolutely not. Science is not cool. Hey, it ain't even cool today. I mean, I tried my best to make it cool but you know people are Googling LeBron James, and, and you know and and Queen B. They're not Googling Bill Nye, the science guy, or Frederick, it's just, it's not happening. So science was not cool then. But because I was all jokes aside because I was a very athletic kid, I was kind of in the not so much the cool, but in the coolest kind of athletic. So kids liked me. I just also happened to like science. The other kids who are the true nerds, who had no athletic skills and no game on the court, had no crossover. No, fadeaway jump shot forget it.

Speaker 2:

They were considered nerdy and weird.

Speaker 1:

I know you have. I've heard you speak and you have this thing today about how the media needs to do a better job of promoting science people. You know scientists today. You know if you ask who's a scientist, you put up your sign Dr Einstein and then you tease Bill Nye the science guy. And if you ask me who a scientist is, you know I'm going to say George Washington Carver is my man. That's right, that's me. Who a scientist is, you know almost like.

Speaker 2:

George Washington Carver is my man. That's right, that's right, yeah, and I'm glad you brought that up. And let me be clear George Washington Carver is an amazing scientist. It's amazing black scientist, but everybody needs to know him. Einstein, marie Curie, you mentioned it, you know, but those are all dead, right.

Speaker 2:

And then the challenge is when you try to ask somebody, well, name a living scientist, then they scratch their head and that's where they may say Bill Nye, the Science Guy, or they might say a Needlegrass Tyson, but that's it. I mean the average person and, by the way, I'm not knocking this right, I'm just stating the fact the average person out there and I want to be clear black or white, athletic or non-athletic, musical or not, if you ask them to name a living scientist, they have a tough time. And if you ask them to name five, they're not going to be able to do it. They just can't do it Right. And so my question is what's that about? I mean, I'm a we were talking before the podcast, we talked about sports, my love for sports. I'm a huge Patriots, celtics, montreal Canadians and Red Sox slash national fan. I love my sports. I will never hate on an athlete. Go get it, love it, and so I understand why the media covers that. I also love singing and dancing. I love hip hop. I love jazz, I love you name it. I love reggae, Like I love artists too, but my problem is or beef, if you will is yes, we need to celebrate athletes and entertainers.

Speaker 2:

You know that's a good thing to do, but scientists are the people that make absolutely everything we do that makes our lives healthy possible. If you use your cell phone, it was not LeBron James that made that happen. If you use navigation, it was not Queen Bee or Jay-Z that made that happen, right. If you use et cetera, et cetera, you can go to every aspect the medicines that heal our loved ones, transportation, the cars we drive. It are all created by scientists and engineers who dedicate their lives, coach Brown, to move the needle forward and give us the best technology and stuff to improve our standard of living. Something like take a shower, turn on your water. We take that for granted in America. You just got to tap, you turn it on. Well, somebody came up with that and it wasn't the singer, dancer, rapper, athlete, you know, politician, it was a scientist.

Speaker 2:

And so my beef is I'm not suggesting it's going to be the same level of a LeBron James or Adele or Rihanna. I get it. I mean, those are famous people making a whole lot of cash, but if we could just show a little bit more love. You know, if the media in general can not just make fun of them and have this? You know, this big bang, show that, okay, these nerdy, smart geniuses? No, you know, like, make science, you know, more engaging, showcase some more scientists. Which is why I'm so honored to be on your show that you decided to highlight some of them. You know, like I said, I love sports and entertainment, but I am a scientist and I appreciate you bringing me on.

Speaker 2:

So that's, that's the beef. It's just not saying it should be the same level, but just show a little more. I mean, as the expression says, put some respect on the scientist's name, man, like, come on, you can't. You can't get through your day without science. It's impossible. I'm sorry, dr B, I apologize, right, but don't you agree with me? Put some respect on that person that made your cell phone possible, right, like you can't live without a cell phone. At least most of us can't, right? I mean, the food was. Some scientists and engineers and agriculture experts made that food possible for us to eat.

Speaker 2:

Oh boy he fired up, up.

Speaker 1:

I'm fired up you know the other thing, uh, the thing I love about you is that all you know, all the talk, but you also put, put it into action. And one thing you did can you talk about the vision of the free science all day? Community days in philadelphia that you started, and now I attended the one in columbus and that one was just awesome. Can you talk about your vision behind that?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I appreciate that. So that's a funny story. So I moved from Philadelphia, you mentioned, as at the Franklin Institute, that's actually the oldest science museum in the United States of America. I moved from there to Columbus to be the president, ceo of the Center of Science and Industry, affectionately known as COSID, and for those folks out in Cleveland, this is equivalent to the Great Lakes Science Center. You know that kind of thing. All right, and so I started January 1, 2017.

Speaker 2:

And my first major interview was with this writer named Mary Yost, who is the writer for Columbus CEO Magazine, and that was like three, like just the beginning of February. I'm doing this interview, interview and interview's going fine. Oh, tell me about the background, all that kind of stuff. And then she says so, dr burtley, you came from the famous franklin institute. What are you going to bring from philadelphia and bring here to columbus? So I, being green and naive, open my big mouth and say oh, we did this thing called the philadelphia science festival'm going to bring the science festival here to Columbus, not knowing that your mouth is closed when you're speaking to a reporter unless you want to make sure they go with it. It's a true story, cover magazine. I'm in there with my arms stretched out and it says Hurtley promises to bring science festival to Columbus.

Speaker 2:

I tell that story because if you ask people what a science, I mean you came to it so you know what it is. But if you ask most people what a science festival is, they have no idea. Everybody knows what a jazz festival is, everybody knows what a riff festival is, everybody knows what a art festival is, et cetera, et cetera. You say science festival, people scratch their head. What are you talking about? And so here I am on the cover of the magazine as a new person to the Ohio region promising to bring this thing that nobody knows what the heck it is and, by the way, it costs a lot of money to put it on. And so, yeah, so I had to fundraise that crazy. But long story short, what it is?

Speaker 2:

The very simple premise is to your point, it's to make science accessible, right? Like, yes, we have the Ohio State or Carnegie, or you know the Case Western or whatever. We have all these great universities, right, but you can't walk into those research labs, they're not going to let you in, right? And so how do you make science accessible? So the concept of a science festival.

Speaker 2:

This is not at CoSAR, at our building for the most part. Ours is four days long. The first three days we do 100 different events in 20 different communities, including and around Columbus. So we are working with mayors, elected officials, to get out in the community and work with their constituents to put on activities there. And our line is we want to deliver science where you live, where you learn and you lounge.

Speaker 2:

And Coach Brown, the reason why that's important is if you go to even a co-sign. But if you go to the Ohio State or MIT and you walk into the lab and have an experience which is very hard to do, but let's say you're able to get through and do that, even if you have a cool experience, you don't necessarily think that that's for you. You're like, okay, I got lucky, I got in, but I'm not part of that. But if you do an experiment or an experience in your church, in your community center, in your restaurant, at your favorite rib barbecue joint, where you're really comfortable, you're like, wait a minute, I'm doing so. I'm around my people, I'm in my community, maybe this is for me.

Speaker 2:

So it's very intentional that we do this massive expose on science everything from engineering, to environmental sciences, to agriculture, to medicine, you name it.

Speaker 2:

But we showcase it in communities around, in this case Central Ohio, and those first three days we do 100 events and then that last day, the fourth day, we call it the big science celebration and I think that's what you came to. That's actually at COSI, but that's not in our building, it's outside and we have 200 tents. That's actually at COSI, but that's not in our building, it's outside and we have 200 tents. Google's there, intel's there, ohio State has about 10 tents, automine has five you name it, et cetera. And people come from not just Columbus but from really far. Honda is there, battelle, and they're showcasing in ways that you, as a visitor, you're not getting a pamphlet from Battelle Research Labs or a pamphlet from Honda here's our next car. You are interacting with a hands-on experience and really doing something like a scientist or an engineer and we've had a lot of fun with it. We've done five years so far and people really love it in this community.

Speaker 1:

That was great. My wife and I attended, along with my nephew he's about 10 years old and he was just so excited. You know, just to, just to, and I love the hands on, and it wasn't just like you said hands to my pamper, here come Chad. No, you got to actually do something, you know, and it was awesome. It was awesome, you know. Speaking of that, why are you such an advocate for introducing minority students to careers in STEM?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, oh man, now you thought I was animated earlier. Now you really got me fired up like that. So there are some fundamental reasons why diversity and equity, if you will, diversity and inclusion is important in general, but especially for the sciences. Let's just say you know you got to do the right thing right. I mean, if science is the future, if science provides opportunities, you can get a good job with just a two-year degree from Columbus State in some computer science thing. You might start at $80,000. I mean, that's a legit good job. So just making sure all people but in the context of America, especially Black and Brown folks and girls who are underrepresented, women and differentiated genders, however you want to define that they need to have access to this too. It can't just be for rich kids or kids who have parents who are scientists or engineers, right? So you want to make sure everybody has access to that. If we want to talk about, you know, raising people out of poverty, providing economic sustainability, talk about filling that workforce pipeline, well, you know, get everybody engaged. So that's one the right thing to do. But the other thing is I have this line that I say genius knows no color, no race, no socioeconomic status and no zip code and no gender. No socioeconomic status and no zip code and no gender. What I'm talking about is you, named george washington carver. Well, he's african-american. He's a genius. Sure? Einstein's a genius? Sure? Mark zuckerberg came up with a cool technology you know, transferred, transformed our world with social media. But genius knows no color. If half of this great country, or, depending what sense, 41 percent of the United States of America, or 43 percent or sometimes 47 percent, is not white, right, we want to make sure we provide opportunities for half of the country to learn about this, because we might miss the next person who will cure cancer, we might miss that next genius who might come up with the next communication device. We might miss that next person who will come up with the best way of saving our environment from incredible pollution, et cetera, et cetera, if we don't ensure women have opportunities here. Women make up 51% of the US population. So forget about even doing the right thing if you're not into supporting different races and other causes, if you're just thinking, practically speaking, from an American strength and workforce development and the next great genius leaders and technological innovators. If we don't bring in half of the country, we're going to miss out. So those are the two reasons. One it's the right thing, man, you want everybody to have the opportunity. The third thing I'll say is again back to the entertainment thing, and I like to use that only because most of us are into entertainment, whether it's sports or movies and dancing hey, I love that stuff.

Speaker 2:

Harder to be jay-z beyonce, little wayne, you know drake versus, you know you name him. I mean, it's so you know you want to be the next lebron james, you want to be the the 15th man on the bench. You want to ride pine in the nba or or be in the dugout and never see the field. It is so hard. And I want to be clear, coach.

Speaker 2:

But I am not saying don't chase your dream. If you're an athlete and you want to be a professional athlete, hey, chase your dream. I'm just saying let's understand some basic math and probability. It is infinitely harder for you to do that than to be Dr B, than to get an engineering degree, than to get a PhD, let than to be Dr B, than to get an engineering degree, than to get a PhD, let alone getting a master's or an undergrad where you can feed your family for 30, 40, 50 years. So that's the third piece to that. Again, not poopooing on all these other big dreams, but it's actually doable. You know, just be okay, get through high school, get into a college, pick a discipline. Yeah, it's a little tough here and there, but it's not nearly as hard as playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes, let alone making it to the Browns.

Speaker 1:

Right, yeah, that's good. One thing you said there, two things making it accessible. And then the biggest thing you said was it's doable, it's doable.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. I mean that's so important. I mean you think about all the schools. That's so important. I mean you think about all the schools and I know we have tough K-12 schools, especially in some urban zip codes, but at the end of the day, there are so many colleges and two-year colleges, four-year colleges, tech colleges in this great country that you know what, if you can just get out, you know you don't have to be a 4.0. If you can just get out and find your way in. You struggle through that, but now you're 22, 24. Out and find your way in. You struggle through that, but now you're 22, 24. You have the rest of your life to earn money and you will have. If you study STEM, you will have a job. That I promise you.

Speaker 1:

Good, I have this thing. I talk to young people all the time, adults as well. You can't be what you can't see, and that's what I love about you. During that whole event my nephew saw nephew saw you, you know and then got a picture with you and we didn't say that picture and we're gonna keep. You know he keep looking at that picture and he can say I can do this. You know I, I can. You know you got to see somebody doing that. Nathan harris is another one I bring with me all the time. You know guys like that, but you know I gotta jump in there, coach brown.

Speaker 2:

That's why you are coach brown, because you hit the nail on the role models are critical, right I mean? So you talked about dr nathan harris. He's another great brother doing some really cool things. Role models are critical. When they see you in that role, I mean, oh my gosh, I let alone meet you personally. It's like, wait a minute, he's not speaking some latin highfalutin language, he's dropping bars like an mc, he's about to battle me, but he's talking about science, right. So it's like I love the fact that you highlighted that, because that's so important.

Speaker 1:

Yeah it was we as we then. Now let's flip to your the fun you have on your youtube channel. You know dr b 3, and then the television for QED with Dr B on PBS. What is it about those shows that you're trying to highlight or you're trying to do with those?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, thanks for plugging those two things. So a little background. So the QED with Dr B is a primetime television show that's 30 minutes long, so it's a TV show. It's what's called a magazine style where I go around interviewing scientists and engineers from around this country. I think a few of the scientists were outside the country, did that through Zoom, but in general go around interviewing scientists, so that's a TV show half hour. The Dr B in three is an animated series and these are three minute short videos.

Speaker 2:

So those are two things, but the purpose of both of them is is similar and that's and this is a call out to to when you talk about tribe, my tribe and this, the tribe I'm talking about now is the scientists and engineer tribes. A lot of times we um, you know we're arrogant, you know, we we have this attitude that we're smarter than everybody else and we work in these things called the ivory towers of higher education or research labs. We speak in a vocabulary that oftentimes 12 other people around the world understand and we think that makes us smarter and that's part of the problem. Yes, on the one hand, we talked about media earlier on this podcast. I wish media would celebrate and elevate scientists and engineers more. But we as scientists and engineers also need to get off our little silver platter you know our little podium and be accessible to the average person, right. And so the purpose of those two shows is to show, is to one take important scientific concepts, whether it's climate change, whether it's generative AI and how that's shaking up the world, you know, whatever it is genetically modified organisms, or just the science of exercise, or the science of stress, whatever these topics are that deal with us, that we deal with every day, is to deconstruct them, but in a way that doesn't make the viewer think that they're small or pardon the expression but dumb or stupid. So to deconstruct in a way that still engages the audience, makes the audience feel comfortable, but they actually learn something. And so we do that with the tv show. And then, similarly, we do it with the animated series. But the animated series. We've just learned over time that people like animation and, even though it's animated, these aren't for little kids. I I mean it's for, like you know, maybe upper middle school, but really high school, undergrad and adults, even though it's animated. And those are. Those are three minute videos where we break down a concept and make again, making it accessible and hopefully enjoyable to the audience.

Speaker 2:

But I want to say this what I'm so proud about with the team and let me step back the TV show with PBS, so that's WOSU PBS. So they own half the rights. We own half the rights In case of the animated series. That's 100% co-sign. We own all those rights because we created the whole thing in-house. And I'm proud about both of these products because, believe it or not, we've won nine Emmys in three years for those shows. And the reason why I'm so proud about that is sure, having an Emmy trophy is kind of fun. It's a conversation piece that people see behind you. I don't have it right here because I'm actually at home, not the office, but it's a fun conversation piece. But more important than that, coach Brown, is Emmys, which recognize the best television kind of in the world, have decided that science communication and science literacy is actually important and you know what, if someone's doing some good stuff, some good TV or good media around that, we're going to recognize them and that's why I'm so proud about that. That's awesome.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you are. Now we got to get to this shoe game. You got going, you know, I know you're the shoe man and your collection is envied by me and others, you know. Can you talk to us about the connection between science and fashion?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so I mentioned earlier, I'm the last of four kids and my dad, being from Trinidad, you know was who he was, but he was just such a great man, very educated. One of the things is he loved Shakespeare and as a kid he used to read Shakespeare. Now, he was reading Shakespeare. As a kid I'm like at the time I wanted to listen to Run DMC and Kumo D and Grandmaster Flash Don't Push Me, because I'm Close Like that's what I used to do. My dad's like okay, you're going to like that rap thing, but let me also read you some Shakespeare. And so he would read Shakespeare to us and so I'll never forget it.

Speaker 2:

There's, you know, the classic Hamlet. I mean, a lot of us read Hamlet during high school and I don't know if you remember the story, but he's leaving his home, denmark, and he's going to France for the first time and his uncle, he's not Hamlet, actually, he's Laertes. And his uncle, polonius, is giving his nephew Laertes this advice, and this is the one. He says all kinds of stuff in this long soliloquy, but he says it's the same one where he says and most of all, to thine own self, be true, for if thou art true to thyself, thy cannot be false to any man, right, or a version of that. But in that soliloquy one of the lines he said is dress rich, not gaudy. And he says because the clothes often proclaim the man. And as a kid I didn't get that, but my dad used to always dress sharp. You know, he had those nice suits back in the 60s, 70s, 80s, cufflinks. He's always a snazzy Western dresser and he would teach us that, look, it's not about being superficial. People like to use the expression, don't judge a book by its cover. But, coach Brown, that's the biggest BS ever. Because why do you pick up the book or the magazine in the first place? Because the cover looked darn good to you or interesting, it was appealing to you.

Speaker 2:

And so, whether you like it or not, fashion is how you choose to present yourself to the world around you, and whether you're talking to somebody about what you're wearing or not, you are having a silent conversation with them. You are having a silent conversation with them and they're judging you, not saying maliciously or not, but they're making decisions about who you are as a human being based on what you're wearing. And so as I grew into being an adult, I was like that's what my dad is talking about. That's what Shakespeare is talking about. You know the clothes often proclaim the man, and so you know that got me into fashion.

Speaker 2:

So I love fashion and for me fashion isn't about spending a billion dollars and having the most expensive sneakers that were just. You know that are sold. You know waiting in line for three years, three days to get them. But it's about you being comfortable with who you are deciding how you want to show up in the world and bring a game. So that's one. Two I do like kicks, I do like sneakers. I have a little bit of a sneaky game. Combination of my two things are Jordans and Chuck Taylors.

Speaker 2:

And I have everything, some of the classics I don't have for the record, I do not have all the Jordans in the official Jordan collection, but I got a couple of shelves of Jordans at the house, but but I got a couple of shelves of Jordans at the house, but I also love Chuck Taylors, and so that became a thing where that's my thing, that I like having. You know, I like wearing sneakers. And then the third piece to fashion is, while all of that's true, especially in my case as a scientist, I think it's useful, and I don't do it because of this, but I'm conscious of it as I do it, and that's that. You know, I want people to see that, hey, you can be a scientist, but you can still have shoe game. You know, you can still have some cool clothes, you can still be hip or stylish or in vogue or whatever the words are.

Speaker 2:

You know, you can have game in the fashion thing, but still be a neurophysicist, a oncologist, a environmental scientist. You don't have to wear as we talked earlier. You don't have to have a lab coat with a pocket protector and your calculator sticking out to declare you're a scientist. And so that's why I love fashion. But most importantly, it's an extension of who you are and, whether you like it or not, if you're on that bus going to work or you're walking down that street, people are judging you rightly or wrongly, based on how you look. Now you, you have to have substance behind that and hopefully you have some good core values in who you are as a person. But at the end of the day, swagger people see the swagger on the outside.

Speaker 1:

You know. The other thing that you've done is you opened up CoSci to a lot of events, you know, and you've given people an opportunity. I've seen some of those events. People are really getting dressed up to come into CoSci, but I think it's twofold One. You got them in the door so they can come in and see about science, you know, and all that, but also it gives them an opportunity to, you know, to dress up and then you, being the man if you dressed up, everybody know when they come they gotta come right, cause Doc gonna be. You know Doc gonna be styling, so you can't come in and clown in that you know Doc will be styling.

Speaker 2:

So you can't come in and clown at that. You know that's the heart of our community. Get people dressed up and look good. We like to go out and look good, but I do have to give a special shout out to the board of trustees that hired me because, you know, I'm not from Columbus, I'm not from Ohio.

Speaker 2:

They did an international search for the next CEO when I was coming on board. They found me and went through the process and then, when I kind of when it became clear that I was a finalist, you know, they said to me. They said, hey, dr B, actually this is Dr Burton at the time. Dr Burton, you know, clearly you're advancing as one of our candidates, our lead candidates. You know, if, if we offered you the job, you know, is there anything you'd want to say? And I said, well, I'm honored to be in this position, I'm honored to to be aist and hopefully you will offer me the job. But before you offer me the job, I just want to make it clear to you that, while I love the history of what I learned about COSI, I've spent a lot of time walking through it and if you do go with me, I want to make sure that that building reflects more of the American diversity and the Columbus diversity, and so, if you do go with me, yes, I'm going to make sure we still have, you know, a lot of white moms bringing their kids in there to go to little kids space. But I want to make sure black folks are in that building, brown folks are in that building, that young folks but when I say young, between 12 and 22 are also engaged, and that COSI becomes a community asset and not just an asset for a subset of people. And, to their credit, they looked at me and they said, dr Burley, that's why you're the perfect person for the job. So I want to just give a shout out to them and you're spot on.

Speaker 2:

I got in there and I was like, look, everybody needs to have access to this. So we cater to all kinds of communities. We've got a group called the Center of Societal Inclusion, which is shortened as COSI, but that's where we reach out to the Bhutanese community, the First American community, the Latino community you name it the Jewish community, et cetera, and, of course, the black and brown community, and so it's been great. So we have one of the biggest events, in fact. One of the biggest events. In fact it's going to be November, november, I want to say 18th this year. It's the Excellence Black Tie event and that's one of the biggest African-American events in the state of Ohio. We will have thirty five hundred to four thousand African-American folks, from twenty one to seventy To your point, coach Brown dress to the nines and you're going to be rocking and jamming and shucking and jiving, having a great time with science and fantastic entertainment. No-transcript.

Speaker 1:

It's awesome. I once heard you talk about De La Soul. You said that the stakes are high in challenging the next generation in science. Why are you on a mission to give more students interest in science?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I'm a huge hip-hop head. I like new hip-hop but I'm a little old school. De La Soul is one of my favorite groups. One of my favorite albums is that album titled Stakes. They said stakes is high is how they quote it. But I'm with you Stakes are high. But it's that concept that for all people, but especially our community, like the stakes are high.

Speaker 2:

If you're not or your immediate surroundings are not connected to science, technology, engineering and math, you are going to get left behind. Look at computer science, look at AI. Look where the job industry and the sector is going. It's all about digital technology. Or look into life sciences it's all about drug discovery, medicines, et cetera. I mean this is all science. Agriculture Ain't nobody pulling a donkey and planting a seed with a donkey pulling it? That's not happening. This is all computerized technology that's planted all the farms and growing all our produce. It's all around us and so the stakes are high.

Speaker 2:

I always say not everybody, including black and brown or women not everybody needs to be a PhD scientist. But just like you're supposed to read, right, if you can't read or write and you're illiterate, you're embarrassed about that, your family's embarrassed for your friends. There's a little shame attached to it. No one expects you to be Maya Angelou or William Shakespeare, but you're still expected to read. Same thing with counting. You know you don't have to be a mathematical genius, but you still expect it to be able to count and figure out your change. Well, in the same way, we should have some vocabulary, some literacy around science, and that's why I say the stakes is high and that's why all kids, but especially the kids from the more underserved zip codes, the more struggling schools, we need to make sure that they have access to this opportunity to learn about science, technology, engineering and math.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's good. I once saw when you gave an example about how we do school you know the same way with the desks and all that you know and how the hands-on and I was blessed to walk into a couple schools in Columbus and see that first hand hands-on piece and it was just I think it was some kids doing some DNA kind of stuff you know at East High School I think it was some kids doing some DNA kind of stuff, you know, at East High School.

Speaker 1:

I want me to see how excited those kids were, you know, and it's just. But that's the science piece.

Speaker 2:

It's a science piece and the broader is the education piece. I mean every. I mean outside of the Amish population, right? Most of us don't use a horse and buggy anymore, right? We use planes, trains and autobooms to get around. How many?

Speaker 2:

When's the last time you communicated with a smoke signal or a cup and string or a telegraph, coach Brown, you don't. You know you use these devices, these cell phones, right? When is the last time you unfolded a map? You know, my dad used to take the family on these trips and he would unfold this map on a steering wheel and he'd try to drive with this floppy map and my mother would be obsessed with me. Put away the map, man, you're going to crash us, right? Well, we don't Matter of fact. If you show a map to a kid today, they'd look at you like you're crazy. We have this thing called GPS technology.

Speaker 2:

Medicines, right? I mean, I'm into holistic medicine and so there's a lot of. You know, definitely, our ancestors have some good therapies that we need to preserve, but at the end of the day, you're going to a pharmacy and buying something to help you get better. Technology has moved all aspects of our lives forward. We don't hunter and gather. Did you go for a bow and arrow yesterday to get your meal? You either went into your fridge, freezer or restaurant, right. But schools haven't changed, coach Brown, right? I mean, for the most part, a lot of these public schools, where the lion's share of Americans are educated, are desks in rows with kids bored out of their minds. So I love the fact that you called out some of these schools where you saw kids doing hands-on stuff, because that's where science is right. Science isn't in a book anymore, science is at the bench, doing discovery, innovating, et cetera. So we need to just do more of that.

Speaker 1:

That's great, you know, as we come around the corner, let's talk. You know it's a legacy podcast. We talk about building a lifelong legacy. What would you say? What's the legacy of Dr Frederick Berkeley? Well, what's your legacy? I know it's still building and evolving.

Speaker 2:

I'm honored that you would even think of me having a legacy at this point, at one point. I'm honored that you would even think of me having a legacy at this point, at one point, when the history is written and I'm pushing up daisies, maybe there might be some legacy. But if I do look in the rearview mirror and say you know, what do I hope to be part of? And that's one getting people to be less and less scared or disconnected from science and engineering. It's everywhere on planet Earth. It allows us to do all the things and you don't have to be an expert. But back to the literacy just like reading and writing, you should understand some stuff about science and math and engineering. So I hope I've made a small dent in getting people comfortable around that. And then two, I hope I make a dent in getting people to appreciate that you know just from a daily, weekly, monthly workforce development, lifestyle opportunities that getting some science or engineering education can open the world to you and for your listeners.

Speaker 2:

I traveled around the world between 20 and 24 without a dime in my pocket because I learned a couple of skill sets when I was an undergraduate student. I learned just laboratory skill sets and so I ended up doing some work for the World Health Organization, living in Haiti, living in the Sudan, living in the Canadian Arctic, just traveling to some really different places and travel is important because it broadens your mind, but I did that on other people's dimes. So if there are two legacies, it's one. Hey, science isn't this weird thing that you should be scared of? Jump in, learn, be excited by it. And two as many people as we provide opportunities to get some scientific training, society will be better because people will get jobs. More People have the capacity to feed their families, take care of themselves, provide shelter and have a good lifestyle, just by having a little bit of education around science, technology, engineering, math. Beyond that, the biggest legacy point is science is super cool and is for everyone. Period, mic drop.

Speaker 1:

Amen, we're going to drop the mic on that one. This brings us to the end of this episode. I want to thank our special guest, dr Burley, for sharing his love for science and bringing a real-life role model for the next generation of future scientists. Dr Burley has and continues to build a lifelong legacy in innovative programs to inspire young people, particularly young people of color, to know that science is cool. So thanks, dr B, for being on the show.

Speaker 2:

You got it and Coach Brown thanks for having me and anybody listening to your podcast. If you want to come to CoSci for free, shoot me an email at burleyatcociorg or shoot Coach Brown an email saying I heard this guy, dr B, on your podcast. How do I get tickets for me and my family or what have you? I will take care of that.

Speaker 1:

Thank you. Thank you for that. Thank you for that. So I want to thank the audience for joining us during this enlightening and informed discussion on building a lifelong legacy in service. Hope this episode was beneficial to you, as always. Thanks for listening. Be a Baller podcast.

Speaker 3:

If you enjoy our show, please share this podcast with your family and friends. Be a Baller podcast is available on all major podcast stations. Be sure to come back next week as we continue to discuss on how to build a lifelong legacy. Until then, don't forget to be a baller. This podcast was created by Coach Tim Brown. Thank you.