Luis von Ahn helped develop the CAPTCHA test that tells whether humans or bots are entering information online. But his passion is education.

Profile Of A Scientist: Programming A Global Classroom For Language Learning

Luis von Ahn helped develop the CAPTCHA test that tells whether humans or bots are entering information online. But the Guatemala-born computer scientist says his passion is education. (Courtesy/Luis von Ahn)

Science In America

Education

Technology

Every scientist builds on the work of great thinkers who came before, so we wanted to look at some important people and moments in science history.

Remembering Great Moments In Science History

Nicolaus Copernicus' "De revolutionibus" (1543) showing his diagram of the heliocentric model of the solar system. (Lara Eakins/Flickr)

Science

Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson talks with Union College professor Chad Orzel about Americans’ basic science understanding, and how much it matters.

Do Americans Know Enough About Science?

Two-year-old Hunter Kleimo and his grandfather Mike Kleimo interact with a Clearpath Robotics robot at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Robotics Challenge Expo at the Fairplex June 5, 2015 in Pomona, California. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

To Ellen Stofan, all of the space agency's various research initiatives are in pursuit of one basic question: Are we alone?

Profile Of A Scientist: Exploring The Universe With NASA

Ellen Stofan, NASA's Chief Scientist, speaks at NASA's Earth Day event, Friday, April 22, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Flickr/Creative Commons/NASA/Joel Kowsky)

0616_ellen-stofan_flickr

Lithium-ion batteries keep our mobile world running. But scientists and engineers are facing some limits with the technology. 

Profile Of A Scientist: Building A Better Battery

Lithium-ion batteries are displayed at the Panasonic booth during the 2015 International CES at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 6, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (David Becker/Getty Images)

Lithium-ion batteries are displayed  at the Panasonic booth during the 2015 International CES at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 6, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (David Becker/Getty Images)

The U.S. continues to lag other countries in STEM education, and new hires in science and tech overwhelmingly tend to be white and Asian men.

Improving STEM Education In America, And Making It More Diverse

Shirley Malcom, head of Education and Human Resources at AAAS, talks during a discussion on the implications from the Minority Male STEM Initiative at the Symposium on Supporting Underrepresented Minority Males in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012 at NASA headquarters in Washington. (Paul E. Alers/NASA via Creative Commons)

Shirley Malcom, head of Education and Human Resources at AAAS, talks during a discussion on the implications from the Minority Male  STEM Initiative at the Symposium on Supporting Underrepresented Minority Males in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012 at NASA headquarters in Washington. (Paul E. Alers/NASA via Creative Commons)

Gabriela Gonzalez was part of the team that discovered the first evidence of gravitational waves in February. 

Profile Of A Scientist: Detecting Gravitational Waves And The Fabric Of The Universe

Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration Spokesperson Gabriela Gonzalez, and Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Co-Founder Rainer Weiss applaud during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, as it is announced that scientists they have finally detected gravitational waves, the ripples in the fabric of space-time that Einstein predicted a century ago. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

There have never been a lot of scientists in Congress, but currently there's just one: Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL). 

Sometimes, It’s Lonely To Be The Only Physicist In Congress

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol June 8, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Indian Prime Minister Modi Addresses Joint Meeting Of Congress

Politics

One biologist is mapping the "microbiome" of microbes that live on and in the human body, starting with astronauts. 

Profile Of A Scientist: Personalized Medicine, Gut Microbes And The Biology Of Space Travel

Expedition 43 NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, left, and his identical twin brother Mark Kelly, pose for a photograph Thursday, March 26, 2015 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)

Expedition 43 NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, left, and his identical twin brother Mark Kelly, pose for a photograph Thursday, March 26, 2015 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.  (Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)

This week, Here & Now is speaking with scientists about their research and looking at issues such as science funding, education and innovation.

National Science Foundation Director France Cordova On Scientific Innovation

France Cordova, director of the National Science Foundation, speaks during an announcement that scientists have observed the ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves for the first time, confirming a prediction of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, during a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, February 11, 2016. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)