The Byte Club Podcast

Kicking off our first guest episode of the season, Charlotte Seckold takes us from her early days as a Microsoft UK intern to leading as a Senior Engineering Manager. She shares career highs, personal lessons, and honest thoughts on mentorship and motherhood — all with the wisdom (and humour) you’d expect from someone who’s done it all. Connect with Char: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotterowe/

In this week’s episode, Beth dives into the trailblazing life of Grace Hopper — the Navy rear admiral who didn’t just serve her country but also served up one of the most revolutionary inventions in computing. Grace Hopper on Letterman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE2uls6iIEU

What if hacking could save lives instead of ruin them? This episode highlights Rachel Tobac — white-hat hacker, CEO of SocialProof Security, and one of the leading voices in the world of ethical social engineering. From phishing phone calls to full-blown simulations of cyberattacks, Rachel breaks into security systems - with permission - to show us how humans are the real vulnerability. Cool Videos To Check Out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr7V3759oRs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-lDRgxbU1Y

Beth Curran takes us on a vivid journey through the dramatic, visionary life of Ada Lovelace — one of the OGs of STEM. From deciphering the first analytical engine to spotting the 1800s version of a for loop, this episode blends history, code, and rebellion in all the best ways.

In the final episode of this season, the girls are going off-script while talking about some of the podcast highlights, a quick update on personal lives, and answering some questions from the audience! Audio Credits Uppbeat: Intro: Summertime Jam by All Good Folks End Credit: I Don't Need Your Love by Adi Goldstein

Is immortality only a concept in fiction? In this episode, Akshaya discovers the story behind Henrietta Lacks' immortal life, one that remained a mystery for nearly 25 years. Tune in for a fun and interesting conversation on how one woman's doctor's visit changed the course of biomedical research. A Timeline of Cell Culture: https://osp.od.nih.gov/hela-cells/significant-research-advances-enabled-by-hela-cells/ Audio Credits Uppbeat: Intro: Summertime Jam by All Good Folks End Credit: I Don't Need Your Love by Adi Goldstein

In this brand new guest episode, LinkedIn guru and data whiz kid, Leah, chats with Akshaya & Beth on her journey from marketing to data science, the (surprising) benefits of documentation in an uncertain job market, and advices for anyone looking to kickstart a career in data. Connect with Leah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ndleah/ Read Leah's Blogs: https://medium.com/@ndleah Audio Credits Uppbeat: Intro: Summertime Jam by All Good Folks End Credit: I Don't Need Your Love by Adi Goldstein

In this week's exciting new episode, Beth takes us through the rather unusual life of Mary Kenneth Keller who was a pioneering computer scientist, an educator, and a Catholic religious sister. This all-rounder was not only the first woman in the U.S. to earn her PhD in Computer Science but also paved the way for Artificially Intelligent computers. Audio Credits Uppbeat: Intro: Summertime Jam by All Good Folks End Credit: I Don't Need Your Love by Adi Goldstein

What does a basketball in the air have in common with a satellite in space? Join Aks this week as she breaks down a key concept in orbital mechanics that was influential to the successful Mars Orbiter Mission, spearheaded by India's very own 'Rocket Woman', Ritu Karidhal. The Indian Mars Orbiter Mission Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySzBVayVhYg Homann Transfer Orbit in 3 Minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKXNbf6NCKU Audio Credits Uppbeat: Intro: Summertime Jam by All Good Folks End Credit: I Don't Need Your Love by Adi Goldstein

Does a quantum computer exist? If it does, can we get one for ourselves? On this week's episode, Beth walks us through the great mind of Michelle Simmons (a.k.a Quantum Queen) and the q(bits) of information you might need to understand the inner workings of quantum computing. Cosmos Article on Michelle: https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/physics/michelle-simmons-a-quantum-queen/ All About Michelle's Work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv-FAMz9o40 Quantum Computing Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhHMJCUmq28 Audio Credits Uppbeat: Intro: Summertime Jam by All Good Folks End Credit: I Don't Need Your Love by Adi Goldstein

If your computer could schedule your meetings, book your dental appointments, and also kept a lookout on Amazon for your wishlist products to go on sale, wouldn't that be a dream? In this week's episode, Akshaya explains how easy it might be to get that done and the woman who made it all possible. Wired Article on Pattie Maes: https://www.wired.com/1997/12/maes-2/ Pattie Maes's Talks "Wearable Tech": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ-VjUKAsao&t=86s Audio Credits Uppbeat: Intro: Summertime Jam by All Good Folks End Credit: I Don't Need Your Love by Adi Goldstein

In the first ever guest episode on Byte Club, Aks and Beth take the backseat as Katherine (Kat) Kinder explains a day in the life of a photonics engineer, delves into the future of physics in Australia, and breaks down Interferometry. If you want to learn more from Kat or say hello: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-kinder/ The Interferometer explained by LIGO: https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/what-is-interferometer Audio Credits Uppbeat: Intro: Summertime Jam by All Good Folks End Credit: I Don't Need Your Love by Adi Goldstein

Before Google, before even DOT COM, was Radia Perlman, and in this episode Beth takes us through the genius idea which was so simple that even drunken monkeys could understand it. Useful Links! Hidden Heroes Article: https://hiddenheroes.netguru.com/radia-perlman A helpful technical explanation of STP: https://youtu.be/GSKoQ8ZR8rw?si=Ow6suUMtYS9pTqnV Radia chatting about STP and her design philosophy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3zJuMht5Kk&t=199s Wreck it Ralph Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JUfHyutQww Audio Credits Uppbeat: Intro: Summertime Jam by All Good Folks Transition: Music Is by Pryces End Credit: I Don't Need Your Love by Adi Goldstein

In this exciting new episode, Akshaya takes us into the exciting double life of Hedy Lamarr, starlet by day, inventor by night (or any spare time she had)! Tune in to know more about Hedy's rollercoaster ride of a life and take away some valuable lessons. Hedy & George's Infamous Patent: https://www.history.com/news/hedy-lamarr-inventor-frequency-hopping-wifi Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story by Alexandra Dean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa_AA_byQ58 Audio Credits Uppbeat: Intro: Summertime Jam by All Good Folks Transition: Music Is by Pryces End Credit: I Don't Need Your Love by Adi Goldstein

In this episode, Beth takes us through the mind of Katie Bouman, who, with her team of researchers, made it possible to take the first-ever picture of the Black Hole. All Things Katie! Bouman’s TED Talk https://youtu.be/BIvezCVcsYs?si=h7-GcT3VZDwQRXNB Bouman’s Caltech Lecture/Symposium https://youtu.be/UGL_OL3OrCE?si=sZ-VtBEAz_1X5tCJ Bouman’s PhD Thesis https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/113998 Some useful videos about The Black Hole: Veritasium’s video ‘How to Understand What Black Holes Look Like: https://youtu.be/zUyH3XhpLTo?si=lZeKs9EVacaLtsXk The Computational Cameras website: https://computationalcameras.org/ Audio Credits Uppbeat: Intro: Summertime Jam by All Good Folks Transition: Music Is by Pryces End Credit: I Don't Need Your Love by Adi Goldstein

In this episode, Akshaya takes us through the life and times of Karen Spärck Jones, whose ground-breaking algorithm discovered in the 70s drives the mechanisms of search engines like Google even today. Here are some articles that will help you understand TF-IDF! 1) https://www.semrush.com/blog/tf-idf/ 2) https://monkeylearn.com/blog/what-is-tf-idf/ Check out Karen's lectures! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwpo8Kz86W8 Audio Credits Uppbeat: Intro: Summertime Jam by All Good Folks Transition: Music Is by Pryces End Credit: I Don't Need Your Love by Adi Goldstein

Welcome to Byte Club! In this episode, Beth Curran and Akshaya Parthasarathy will be taking you through a quick tour of themselves, the origin of Byte Club and what to look forward to! Audio Credits Uppbeat: Intro: Summertime Jam by All Good Folks End Credit: I Don't Need Your Love by Adi Goldstein