iRecognition
Clay Beyersdorfer
Issue date: 10/1/09 Section: News
SIUE left a mark on the Internet world on Sept. 5, thanks to a group of locals from the SIUE community, who have a passion for space and astronomy.
Some alumni and students of SIUE recently won the Parsec Award for the Best Infotainment Podcast, for a podcast they created about the field of astronomy, titled "365 Days of Astronomy" or "365DoA."
"365DoA" is a series of podcasts, one produced daily by a different expert or group with knowledge of the specific day of the year. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first year Galileo used his telescope to study the sky.
The award was given out at the Dragon*Con convention held in Atlanta, Ga. The Parsec Awards were started in 2006 to celebrate podcasting on a national level. Dragon*Con is one of the largest multi-media, pop-culture conventions held in the United States. The focus of the convention is on science fiction and media that involves topics related to any field of science in the United States.
"365DoA" was one of five finalists, after being selected from a field of 50 nominated shows.
Fans nominated the selected podcasts, and the finalists were chosen by a group of judges. Awards were given out in several categories, ranging from best audio quality to best content.
Podcasts produced by the SIUE alumni and students have had success in the past, but nothing on this level. In 2007 and 2008, the same group produced a podcast titled "Astronomy Cast" and was a finalist for the People's Choice Podcast Awards. This year, however, marked the first year that the group brought home a prize.
Pamela Gay, the head of the "365DoA" project and a SIUE professor in the Physics Department, said she was happy with the result the podcast earned.
"It was such a great feeling to know that we had won. I was shocked at first, just honestly speechless," Gay said. "It's amazing to see how passionate people around the world are about the field of astronomy."
Gay also credited other members in the group including graduate students Preston Gibson, the show's main producer, Georgia Bracey, Kortney Hogan, and colleague Nancy Atkinson, who acted as the project manager. Undergraduate students David Flateau, Michael Koppelman, Emily Lakdawalla, Stuart Lowe, Martin Ratcliffe and Robert Simpson also contributed to the project.
Some alumni and students of SIUE recently won the Parsec Award for the Best Infotainment Podcast, for a podcast they created about the field of astronomy, titled "365 Days of Astronomy" or "365DoA."
"365DoA" is a series of podcasts, one produced daily by a different expert or group with knowledge of the specific day of the year. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first year Galileo used his telescope to study the sky.
The award was given out at the Dragon*Con convention held in Atlanta, Ga. The Parsec Awards were started in 2006 to celebrate podcasting on a national level. Dragon*Con is one of the largest multi-media, pop-culture conventions held in the United States. The focus of the convention is on science fiction and media that involves topics related to any field of science in the United States.
"365DoA" was one of five finalists, after being selected from a field of 50 nominated shows.
Fans nominated the selected podcasts, and the finalists were chosen by a group of judges. Awards were given out in several categories, ranging from best audio quality to best content.
Podcasts produced by the SIUE alumni and students have had success in the past, but nothing on this level. In 2007 and 2008, the same group produced a podcast titled "Astronomy Cast" and was a finalist for the People's Choice Podcast Awards. This year, however, marked the first year that the group brought home a prize.
Pamela Gay, the head of the "365DoA" project and a SIUE professor in the Physics Department, said she was happy with the result the podcast earned.
"It was such a great feeling to know that we had won. I was shocked at first, just honestly speechless," Gay said. "It's amazing to see how passionate people around the world are about the field of astronomy."
Gay also credited other members in the group including graduate students Preston Gibson, the show's main producer, Georgia Bracey, Kortney Hogan, and colleague Nancy Atkinson, who acted as the project manager. Undergraduate students David Flateau, Michael Koppelman, Emily Lakdawalla, Stuart Lowe, Martin Ratcliffe and Robert Simpson also contributed to the project.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
brimoor
Brian Moore
posted 10/01/09 @ 9:40 PM CST
Congrats Dr Gay...It seems like only yesterday I was swinging by your office with a question in PHYS 206, back in 06-07, and had to wait to bug you until you finished recording your podcast. (Continued…)
Post a Comment