Showing posts with label PBS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PBS. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

The Secret Life of...Chemists?

A friendly link on Twitter led me to Neil deGrasse Tyson's profile page at NOVA's "The Secret Life of Scientists & Engineers" (Tagline: Where the lab coats come off). I'll admit I haven't visited much before, but I believe it's a PBS web series devoted to public outreach through personal conversations with scientists.
Source: pbs.org
Noticing the ~40 or so other smart folks in the left-hand margin, I wondered whether NOVA had yet profiled any personable chemists. Alas, far as I can tell, not a single chemist* appears on their site; there's a "nanoscientist," a "DNA Scientist," and a "biochemist," but no synthesis, polymers, or catalysts in sight!

Luckily, commenters to the rescue: A request for nominations on the site has drawn >100 comments, and I see at least 25 people clamoring for chemists.

If you know a chemist with a hidden talent, please consider sending in their name.

*Never fear, they've already profiled plenty of physicists, neuroscientists, climate scientists, astronomers, and psychologists. Some disciplines just promote themselves better.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Cool Science - N.dG.T.

Meet Neil deGrasse Tyson.

He's the director of the Hayden Planetarium. He's appeared on The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He answers astronomy questions posed to him by random netizens on reddit, and gives dozens of public talks to school kids.

Noted science writer Carl Zimmer has recently written a fairly glowing profile of him, that appeared in a well-read magazine.

He hosts episodes of NOVA for PBS, and Fox will re-boot Cosmos with him in front.

But it was his AP stock photo (see right) from this NPR book review that drew my eye - when's the last time being a scientist looked so cool?