Scientific American Frontiers
Encyclopedia
Scientific American Frontiers was an American
television
program primarily focused on informing the public about new technologies
and discoveries in science
and medicine
. It was a companion program to the Scientific American
magazine. The show was produced for PBS
in the U.S. by The Chedd-Angier Production Company, Watertown, Massachusetts (as was its predecessor, Discover: The World of Science, a companion program to Discover magazine), and typically aired once every two to four weeks. To this day, the shows can be viewed on-line at their website, and continue to air regularly on the national digital channel World
.
The show first aired in 1990 with MIT
professor Woodie Flowers
who served as the original host from 1990 to the spring of 1993. Actor Alan Alda
became the permanent host starting in the fall season of 1993 and continued until the show ended in 2005. Alda's tenure has been notable for his humble and often humorous approach: in one memorable segment, he became car sick while driving an experimental, virtual reality
vehicle. In 2005, Alda published his first round of memoirs, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned, published by Random House
(ISBN 1-4000-6409-0); in the book, he recalls his intestine
s becoming strangulated while on location in Chile
for the show, an incident that nearly cost him his life since he was in a remote region and it was difficult to get to a doctor. Finally he found one, who turned out to be a M*A*S*H fan.
Most programs include about three short documentaries
, but some shows follow a different pattern. The show has been popular among people interested in science and technology. Some early viewers of the program who were young at the time have ended up appearing as guests in later episode
s, often stating that the program inspired them to continue their scientific pursuits.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
program primarily focused on informing the public about new technologies
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
and discoveries in science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
. It was a companion program to the Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
magazine. The show was produced for PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
in the U.S. by The Chedd-Angier Production Company, Watertown, Massachusetts (as was its predecessor, Discover: The World of Science, a companion program to Discover magazine), and typically aired once every two to four weeks. To this day, the shows can be viewed on-line at their website, and continue to air regularly on the national digital channel World
PBS World
PBS World is a 24-hour United States over-the-air digital subchannel showing public TV non-fiction, science, nature, news, public affairs and documentaries...
.
The show first aired in 1990 with MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
professor Woodie Flowers
Woodie Flowers
Woodie C. Flowers is an emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His specialty areas are engineering design and product development, he holds the Pappalardo Professorship and is a MacVicar Faculty Fellow....
who served as the original host from 1990 to the spring of 1993. Actor Alan Alda
Alan Alda
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
became the permanent host starting in the fall season of 1993 and continued until the show ended in 2005. Alda's tenure has been notable for his humble and often humorous approach: in one memorable segment, he became car sick while driving an experimental, virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
vehicle. In 2005, Alda published his first round of memoirs, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned, published by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
(ISBN 1-4000-6409-0); in the book, he recalls his intestine
Intestine
In human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...
s becoming strangulated while on location in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
for the show, an incident that nearly cost him his life since he was in a remote region and it was difficult to get to a doctor. Finally he found one, who turned out to be a M*A*S*H fan.
Most programs include about three short documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, but some shows follow a different pattern. The show has been popular among people interested in science and technology. Some early viewers of the program who were young at the time have ended up appearing as guests in later episode
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
s, often stating that the program inspired them to continue their scientific pursuits.
Funding
- National Science FoundationNational Science FoundationThe National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
- AT&TAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
- The Arthur Vining Davis FoundationsThe Arthur Vining Davis FoundationsThe Arthur Vining Davis Foundations are a group of charitable foundations established by American industrialist Arthur Vining Davis, onetime Alcoa president and Florida land developer.-History:...
- The Sharon Ann Lane Foundation
- Justus H. RathboneJustus H. RathboneJustus Henry Rathbone was the founder of the international fraternal order of the Knights of Pythias. He graduated from Colgate University and attended Carlisle Seminary. He was a music composer and actor. In 1863 he moved to Washington D.C...
- GTEGTEGTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System....
- Agilent TechnologiesAgilent TechnologiesAgilent Technologies , or Agilent, is a company that designs and manufactures electronic and bio-analytical measurement instruments and equipment for measurement and evaluation...
- Corporation for Public BroadcastingCorporation for Public BroadcastingThe Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
- PBS Viewers Like YouPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
External links
- Official site - contains extra interviews, behind-the-scenes information, and all shows freelyGratisGratis is the process of providing goods or services without compensation. It is often referred to in English as "free of charge" or "complimentary"...
available for viewing