Title: Bringing science from your lab to the living room
1Bringing science from your lab to the living room
A partnership between the National Science
Foundation (NSF), American Institute of Physics
(AIP), MRS, and others for the advocacy of
science and technology in society
2Understanding how the public gets
information Trends in regular news consumption,
percentage of viewers per year
(Source Pew Research Center, 2004)
3What is DBIS?
- Discoveries and Breakthroughs Inside Science
(DBIS) is a syndicated science and engineering
news service for local television newscasts. - Twelve 90-second segments are produced per month
- Each segment is reviewed for scientific accuracy
- DBIS features a broad range of topics in science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) - Goals
- Promote awareness and appreciation among local TV
news viewers of the role that STEM play in
society - Deliver broad spectrum research newsutilizing
strength of TV medium - Enhance the image of scientists and engineers
- Expose audiences to diverse racial and gender
STEM professionals - Provide and educational science web component
4Science in the news
- MRS Story Ideas
- Synthetic Diamonds
- How scientists can make diamonds
- Sensitive Teeth
- Bioactive ceramic to ease tooth pain
- Invisibility cloak
- Watch out Harry Potter!!
- Other Ideas Under Construction
- Organic electronics
- Pebble Bed Nuclear Reactors
- Metal Rubber
- E-textiles
- Many, many more
- Requirements
- Must be visually stimulating
- Should be of interest to most not regionally
limited - Research should provide direct benefits to
general public within next few years - Researchers should be located in US
- Must not have received extensive TV coverage
- Should be new research resulting in a solution or
that explains a scientific technical mystery - Must be able to illustrate the concept
- Must have an outside expert available for review
- Medical stories should be in at least phase II of
clinical trials
5Who will the stories reach?
Over 70 Million Possible Viewers Nationwide
6Science on the ride to work
Total Average Minimum Audience Views 40 million
(2nd quarter 2006)
72006 Partners - 19 organizations
- Acoustical Society of America
- American Association of Physics Teachers
- American Association of Physicists in Medicine
- American Geophysical Union
- American Institute of Physics
- American Mathematical Society
- American Meteorological Society
- AVS Science and Technology Society
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- American Society for Microbiology
- American Water Works Association
- Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
- Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology
- Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
USA - Materials Research Society
- Mathematical Association of America
- Optical Society of America
- Space Telescope Science Institute
- Universities Research Association
8- DBIS Working With Partners
Partners Input Story Ideas
Story Pre-approval Story Approval Draft
Script Developed Final Script Approved
Video Produced Final Approval By AIP
Partners Input Outside Experts
Partners Review Script
9Nielsen Tracking Data
Average of 51 Million Views per monthly feed
10UMC
- Asking for ideas for stories from the UMC Members
- MRS DBIS Committee
- Professor Jerrold Floro, University of Virginia
- Professor Kevin Jones, University of Florida
- Diane Hickey, University of Florida
- Lane Martin, University of California, Berkeley
- Ben Poquette, Virginia Tech
- Please email ideas to kjones_at_eng.ufl.edu