Winners of the Sound ⋂ Science Podcast Contest
As part of the 2017 EFRC-Hub-CMS Principal Investigators’ Meeting, the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) sponsored an Intersection of Sound and Science Podcast Contest. Following the EFRC tradition, during each meeting there is an optional contest designed to educate, inspire and entertain an intelligent, but not expert, audience with the extraordinary science, innovation, and people in the Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC), Energy Innovation Hubs (Hub), and Computational Materials Sciences Awards (CMS). In 2017, the 36 EFRCs, 2 Hubs, and 5 CMS were challenged to share the excitement and mystery of science using sounds.
14 teams took up the challenge, and submitted a symphony of scientific sounds that reveal the science, and the people behind the science, in entirely new ways. The Office of Science is pleased to announce the five winning entries and the People’s Choice Award:
Sound to Analyze, Interpret, and Understand Data from Experiment and Theory
Overall Winner
Interfacial Dynamics in Radioactive Environments and Materials (IDREAM) led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Tailoring Alloys to be Radiation-tolerant for Clean and Safe Energy Production
Best Team Effort
Energy Dissipation to Defect Evolution (EDDE) led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The Rhythm of Science
Best Narrative
Center for Frontiers of Subsurface Energy Security (CFSES) led by the University of Texas at Austin
The Dance of the Electrons and the Scientist
Best Science Music Composition
Center for the Computational Design of Functional Layered Materials (CCDM) led by Temple University
Plant Cell Walls, a Symphony of Solid Sunlight
Best Explanation of a Scientific Concept
Center for Lignocellulose Structure and Formation (CLSF) led by the Pennsylvania State University
Big Things, Small Packages
People’s Choice Award
Nanostructures for Electrical Energy Storage (NEES) led by the University of Maryland.
The entry that received the most votes from the public from June 28 to July 19, 2017 11:59 pm was given the People’s Choice Award at the Principal Investigators’ Meeting on July 24.
The winning podcasts were selected by an expert panel of judges:
- Matt Dozier is a Digital Content Specialist in the Department of Energy Office of Public Affairs and the co-producer of DOE’s podcast series, Direct Current.
- Jessica Johnson Papaspyridis is the CEO of Newswise, a company that provides press release distribution for public relations, and a newswire service for journalists seeking health news, science news, experts, and more.
- Allison Lantero is a Digital Content Specialist in the Department of Energy Office of Public Affairs and the co-producer of DOE’s podcast series, Direct Current.
- Lauren Ober is the host of WAMU’s The Big Listen, the “broadcast about podcasts.” Before taking the helm of this program, she was an award-winning radio producer for WAMU’s weekly newsmagazine, Metro Connection.
More information about the programs are available on the official websites: Energy Frontier Research Centers, Energy Innovation Hubs, and Computational Materials Sciences Awards.