Science writer Mark Wolverton (author of A Life in Twilight: The Final Years of J. Robert Oppenheimer) suggested that I get involved with the Philadelphia-Area Science Writers Association (or PASWA) because they wanted to do a video project for the first ever Philadelphia Science Fair in 2011. So I went to the discussions as a kind of video advisor; and kibitz over the feasibility of the ideas being developed.
One of the writers at the meetings noted a survey– I’m sorry, but I don’t have sources– that showed that a lot of people simply don’t know any scientists; even in a scientist-rich environment such as Philadelphia, many people don’t realize that many fo their neighbors do this mystical mumbo-jumbo called science. So PaSWA decided on a project called “Faces of Philadelphia Science,” which would showcase two-minute videos with local scientists as they spoke about their work and their communities. The videos would be shot by the various writers of PaSWA, or by people they recruited.
We quickly developed a format to follow, with specific graphics to use and the kinds of questions to be asked. I shot the first two interviews, which served as examples and templates for the others to follow, and a third later on. They’re embedded below. The full collection of “Faces of Philadelphia Science” can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/user/PhillyScienceWriters#grid/user/4E0D5FD4B8702476
The thing is, I’m not at all sure what was done with these videos after they were assembled. Last I’d heard, PaSWA never heard back from the Science Fair on a few crucial things.