Labs’ ‘From Research to Reality’ Podcast Celebrates Sixth Anniversary

[Labs_Editorial]

Dejan Milojicic and Hewlett Packard Labs’ From Research to Reality recording crew are shown here filming a video podcast in the lobby of Labs’ Milpitas, Calif., facility. Recording the podcast are Sai Chalamalasetti, formerly of HPE, and Pedro Bruel (far right). In front of the green screen, being filmed, are Milojicic (left), Shivang Aggarwal (center) and Lianjie Cao. Behind the camera taking pictures are Gourav Rattihalli and Pavana Prakash (not shown).

While reports show that 99% of all podcasts don’t make it past the 20^th episode, Hewlett Packard Labs’ From Research to Reality serial is still going strong. Six years after Labs’ Dejan Milojicic recorded his first session, on April 23, 2019, From Research to Reality is airing its 134^th podcast (67 episodes and 67 trailers) later this month.

Dejan Milojicic (left) welcomes Ray Beausoleil to the first From Research to Reality podcast in 2019.The format and focus hasn’t changed significantly since Milojicic first talked photonics with Senior Fellow Ray Beausoleil in that very first full episode.

“We wanted to talk about what we do in research and how it impacts the rest of the world,” said Milojicic, an HPE Fellow and Labs VP who hosts and produces each episode. “We try to explain technical things but keep it in layman’s terms, so it appeals to a broad audience, both externally and internally.”

In six years, Milojicic has interviewed a diverse range of technology leaders from Labs, HPE, academia, government, and partner tech companies. The podcast has covered a wide range of topics, from research breakthroughs and management strategies to intern experiences and conference planning.

Podcast topics

A quick scan of the podcast’s early-season topics – searchable here in the Labs podcast library – reveals the direction Milojicic wanted to take the initiative over time. Topics included some of Labs’ primary areas of research – including memory-driven computing, designing for user experience, data foundations for AI, and high-performance computing in the cloud.

Fast-forward to more recent seasons, and From Research to Reality has moved on to cover additional emerging topics, including liquid cooling, quantum and quantum-inspired computing, digital twins, networking innovations in animal tracking, and the process technical leaders undergo to compile annual sets of technology predictions.

Looking back, Milojicic said he found it difficult to identify a favorite podcast, but he did pull out a few highlights.

He recalled the challenges of recording episodes during the global pandemic in the front yard of his California home, keeping the required distance between interviewees, interviewer and recording crew. “Even more than Corona,” he added, “it was wind and other noises in the front yard that we were concerned with.”

Miljicic started recording with just a single camera, a single set of mobile mics and one crew member. If anything failed, the team would have to record again. Today, Milojicic records with five cameras, four different sets of mics, and five crew members. “When you record, something always fails, be it noise, wrong angle, or disconnected cable,” he said. “Having redundancy is extremely important.”

Rolling up his sleeves

After the podcast’s first year, the colleague who handled production, Rebecca Lewington, left the company, so Milojicic rolled up his sleeves and took the lead on the production himself. He recruited three Labs Fellows and VPs – Kirk Bresniker, Paolo Faraboschi and Cullen Bash – to act as a recording crew. “That was probably the most overqualified and expensive crew ever to record a podcast,” Milojicic laughed. “And,” he added, “they were not shy about expressing their opinions.”

Milojicic said a conversation on liquid cooling that he recorded in his hotel room at the SC24 conference turned out to be one of his most downloaded podcasts ever. “Even with a little bit of equipment you can record a great podcast,” he said. “With an interesting interviewee you usually throw away prepared questions and let conversation guide you.”

In one video podcast from 2021, From Research to Reality displayed the interviewer and interviewee as avatars in the Metaverse.Over the past year, Milojicic has organized the podcast into three categories. The “Spotlight” group celebrates new inventions by Labs technologists. “Making Products” covers the innovation process all the way to productization experience. Milojicic said the third group, “Unsung Heroes,” “showcases hidden figures without whom neither research nor products would be possible.”

From Research to Reality airs periodically, usually once or twice a month, on Thursdays. Videos appear on YouTube and audio podcasts are hosted on the Transistor.fm service. It is available on most popular platforms, including Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music and Audible, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, Deezer, and Player FM. It circulates in more than 50 countries and has generated more than 6,800 audio downloads.

The trailer for the next podcast – the 134^th in the From Research to Reality series – will debut on April 24. It will promote an upcoming discussion with Carl Chow, a technology evangelist with HPE. They will discuss how to operate a cleanroom in a data center.

Looking ahead to 200

Milojicic said he is looking forward to another set of milestones – his 200^th podcast and podcast’s 10-year anniversary.

“Frequently, when I meet colleagues from other parts of the world, at TechCon and elsewhere, they smile and they say ‘You do the podcasts, don’t you? Keep them going,’” he recalled. “This is why I do them – because of the audience.”

As the podcast series celebrates six years of insightful discussions and industry expertise, Milojicic’s dedication and passion continue to drive the conversation forward, sharing stories of innovation and progress, one episode at a time.