Vermont EPSCoR, Public TV Offer Series on State’s Scientific Discoveries

State universities and research programs depend on public support to develop and commercialize new technologies, but the actual science involved in these discoveries can seem intimidating and arcane to the layman. How then should a state go about engaging the public in scientific research?

To address the issue, Vermont Public Television and Vermont EPSCoR have joined forces to launch a new television series that will introduce Vermont residents to the research and innovations being developed in the state’s universities and labs. The program, Emerging Science, will explore the work of Vermonters engaged in scientific exploration and highlight the successes of the state’s scientific community. Each episode will feature a developing scientific field, including nanotechnology, global climate change and remote sensing.

Vermont Public Television plans to issue eight short weekly podcasts on its website leading up to the April launch of Emerging Science. One can subscribe to these podcasts through iTunes or watch previews of the episodes at: http://www.vpt.org/programs/emergingscience.html

Vermont is not the first state to use the media to increase citizen engagement in science and technology. The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology has been broadcasting Oklahoma Innovations, a weekly radio show, for 12 years. Oklahoma Innovations features hour-long discussions including conversations with university researchers, interviews with Oklahoma entrepreneurs, profiles of the state’s high-tech business service providers and insights into the state’s TBED economy. The March 9, 2008 episode, for example, featured the Oklahoma Creativity Project, a statewide effort to build a creative workforce and to leverage the state’s creative resources to strengthen its entrepreneurial economy.

The program’s schedule and a downloadable archive are available at: http://www.ocast.state.ok.us/News/Radio/tabid/71/Default.aspx

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