{"72375":{"#nid":"72375","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tech Scientist Co-hosts New PBS Science Show","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s said that getting a degree from Georgia Tech can prepare you to do just about anything - and that includes starring in your own TV show. Georgia Tech scientist Bahareh Azizi will make her debut on PBS this week co-hosting, \u0027Science Investigators,\u0027 a program in which young, energetic scientists, not actors, lead viewers on an hour-long expedition to uncover a series of scientific mysteries. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe program is one of three that PBS is broadcasting this month in their quest to find their next hit science show. \u0027Science Investigators\u0027 will premiere nationally on Wednesday, January 10 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. \u0027Wired Science,\u0027 a program that translates Wired magazine\u0027s journalism into a television show aired January 3 while \u002722nd Century,\u0027 a program that uses scientists and futurists to imagine what the world will look like 100 years from now, airs January 17. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPBS is asking viewers to weigh-in on which show they\u0027d like to see turned into a 10-episode series this fall. The network will use that information, combined with Nielsen ratings and other tools of the broadcast trade, to decide which series makes it and which doesn\u0027t. Beginning January 1, PBS put pilot episodes for all three shows, plus extra footage, on their Web site (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/science\u0022 title=\u0022www.pbs.org\/science\u0022\u003Ewww.pbs.org\/science\u003C\/a\u003E). Viewers can either watch the show on TV and then go to the Web site to comment, or do it all on the Web.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAzizi said that it\u0027s the hosts\u0027 science backgrounds and the investigative nature of \u0027Science Investigators\u0027 that she thinks sets the program apart from the competition.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We actually put our own insights into the show and the investigations. As a scientist you\u0027re curious about how things work; you don\u0027t have to pretend that you\u0027re interested because you really are,\u0022 said Azizi, a postdoctoral researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She earned her doctorate in biochemistry at Tech.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe pilot undertakes two main stories and several smaller ones. The first segment, hosted by British physicist Basil Singer and best-selling science writer and filmmaker Victoria Bruce, investigates Neanderthal DNA and answers whether it can be used someday to bring them back to life. The segment was spurred by questions that a Connecticut middle school teacher submitted on behalf of her class.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn her first segment, Azizi and co-host astrophysicist Kevin Hand examine why a certain species of frogs has disappeared from Long Island, NY and how it may be an early warning for humans. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022That\u0027s a very serious issue because any changes in the environment, even small changes, they can detect,\u0022 said Azizi. \u0022And if we have a die-off of certain types of species, that means there\u0027s something in our environment that\u0027s affecting us, but we may not be able to feel it, yet.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring the segment, Azizi enlists the help of the amphibian conservation program at the Atlanta Botanical Garden to help them understand what may be responsible for the disappearing frog species on Long Island. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Azizi\u0027s other segment she takes a spin in an electric race car that accelerates from 0 mph to 60 mph in three seconds. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We were going, I think, 120 mph, but when Kenny Shepherd, the NASCAR driver, got in there he actually took the car even faster,\u0022 she said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAzizi said she was looking for faculty jobs on a science career Web site when she saw the posting looking for a host of the show. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I thought, oh yeah, I\u0027ll apply, whatever,\u0022 she said, not really expecting much. \u0022But then I got a callback to send in my picture and then to send in my tape.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter not hearing from the producers for a while, and just as she had given up hope, she got a call asking her to fly to Oregon to interview a professor for the frog segment. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAll in all, filming the pilot took about six days. Azizi said she flew to San Francisco to film at the Altamont race track, filmed lab segments in New York, and interviewed people at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s been much fun. Those days went by so fast, it\u0027s incredible,\u0022 she said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUsing real scientists to host the show, instead of actors, gives the show an interesting dynamic, she said. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022There were a lot of times where my experience as a scientist really came into play because we actually do experiments on the show,\u0022 said Azizi. \u0022At the same time, TV is all about the image, so when we were filming the DNA experiments, we used our expertise to use the brightest DNA marker we could find, so it would look good on camera.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAzizi said her experience in the Ph.D. program at Tech and teaching a freshman chemistry course helped her immensely in hosting the show.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Tech prepares you so much for the real world. It taught me discipline and to work as hard as I can,\u0022 she said. \u0022The toughness of the program gives you endurance. When you\u0027re filming 14 hours a day - if I didn\u0027t have experience putting in 14 hour days in the lab, I would have had a harder time at the shoots.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAzizi also noted that teaching an 8 a.m. class of freshman chemistry gave her the ability to communicate complicated topics in everyday language. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I used a lot of analogies with real life for my students, because I think what captures their curiosity the most is how they can relate it back to their lives,\u0022 said Azizi. \u0022That\u0027s the cool thing about science. People actually take what they learn in the lab and apply it to life.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Georgia Tech scientist Bahareh Azizi will make her debut on PBS this week co-hosting, \u0027Science Investigators,\u0027 a program in which young, energetic scientists, not actors, lead viewers on an hour-long expedition to uncover a series of scientific mysteries.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Science Investigators now online"}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2007-01-08 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:37","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2007-01-08T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2007-01-08T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"72376":{"id":"72376","type":"image","title":"Bahareh Azizi","body":null,"created":"1449177462","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:17:42","changed":"1475894656","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:16"}},"media_ids":["72376"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wgbh\/si\/","title":"Science Investigators"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2534","name":"Aziz"},{"id":"2533","name":"Bahareh"},{"id":"2535","name":"Investigators"},{"id":"2521","name":"pbs"},{"id":"2539","name":"pilot"},{"id":"167040","name":"science"},{"id":"167095","name":"show"},{"id":"2538","name":"television"},{"id":"2536","name":"TV"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}