STEMcast Episode 32 | Nano-Physics with Peter Grutter: How do the Structure and Properties of Tiny Things Work, and What Does that Mean for Us?

STEMcast Episode 32 | Nano-Physics with Peter Grutter: How do the Structure and Properties of Tiny Things Work, and What Does that Mean for Us?

From STEMcast by STEMcast

June 28, 2025 · 1h 6m · Episode 32

About this episode

Dr. Peter Grutter discusses the manipulation of nanoscale materials and their implications in various fields, including cancer research.

Dr. Peter Grutter, a physicist studying and developing atomic force microscopy (AFM), takes this episode to walk us through the varying facets of his work. We begin by understanding how manipulating the properties of nanoscale materials can alter their behaviours in ways unintuitive to us macro-scale beings, despite them following the same basic universal ruleset as everything else: physics. The episode continues to explore Dr. Grutter’s work, which involves using AFM to measure Nanonewton-scale forces or evaluate the shape of Nanometer-scale objects. He explains how this cutting-edge tool is applicable to a plethora of fields, including microbiology. Tune in to learn how physics is contributing to the fight against cancer at scales smaller than an atom!

People in this episode

Host: STEMcast

Guest: Dr. Peter Grutter

Topics covered

  • nano-physics
  • atomic force microscopy
  • nanoscale materials
  • cancer research
  • microbiology

Keywords

  • nano-physics
  • atomic force microscopy
  • nanoscale
  • cancer
  • microbiology
  • Nanonewton
  • physics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: STEMcast

Products: atomic force microscopy (AFM)

More episodes of STEMcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the STEMcast podcast page.