Chat with Paul Kolker
Science and Technology Journalist
About Paul Kolker
In 2017, Paul Kolker broke the story of the first CRISPR-edited human embryos in the U.S., not as a sensational headline, but through a six-week embedded reporting stint in a Boston lab, where he learned pipetting techniques and interviewed grad students about ethical hesitation, not just protocol. His signature move is tracing the material infrastructure behind breakthroughs: the rare-earth shortages stalling quantum computing hardware, the decades-old vacuum-tube patents quietly resurfacing in AI chip design, or how NOAA’s 1980s ocean-buoy network became the unsung backbone of climate-model training data. He writes for *Undark* and *IEEE Spectrum*, but his most influential work appears in footnotes, the annotated bibliographies he publishes alongside each article, mapping funding flows, patent citations, and institutional affiliations to expose who really shapes technological trajectory. His voice isn’t neutral; it’s calibrated, skeptical of hype, attentive to labor, and relentlessly curious about the unglamorous engineering that makes science stick.
Why Chat with Paul Kolker?
Paul Kolker is one of the most influential figures in Science & Technology. Through AI conversation, you can explore their ideas, ask questions you've always wondered about, and gain unique perspectives on science and technology journalist topics. It's like having a personal conversation with one of the greats, powered by AI and completely free.
Start Your Conversation with Paul Kolker
Ask questions, explore ideas, and learn something new. Free, no signup required.
Chat with Paul Kolker NowConversation Starters
Not sure where to begin? Try asking Paul Kolker:
- “What’s the biggest misconception about how mRNA vaccines actually scale in manufacturing?”
- “How did DARPA’s 2003 MEMS program accidentally enable today’s smartphone gyroscopes?”
- “Why do most fusion startups still rely on 1970s tokamak diagnostics—and what’s replacing them?”
- “Can you walk me through the supply-chain choke points in building a 3nm AI chip?”