Nova producer to delve into the art of science television

Paula S. Apsell, the executive producer for public television’s science series Nova, has been named University of Wisconsin–Madison Science Writer in Residence for the fall of 2006.

Apsell will spend the week of Oct. 15 at UW–Madison visiting classes and working individually with students, staff and faculty to provide insight into the business of producing science documentaries. She will also give a free public lecture, “The Art of Science Television,” at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 17, in the UW–Madison Business School’s Kellner Hall, Room 2120, Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave.

Apsell began her career in broadcasting typing television program logs at WGBH in Boston. She joined Nova as a producer in 1975, and later worked for the Boston ABC affiliate as a senior producer for medical programming. In 1983, she spent a year studying at MIT as a Knight Fellow. She rejoined Nova in 1984 as its executive producer.

Apsell has produced a number of critically acclaimed Nova episodes as well as many award-winning WGBH Science Unit specials, including “A Science Odyssey,” “Secrets of Lost Empires,” “Building Big” and, recently, the eight-part miniseries “Evolution.”

Today, Nova is the most popular science series on American television and the web.

The Science Writer in Residence Program, now in its 20th year, was established with the help of the Brittingham Trust and continues with support from the UW Foundation. Past visiting writers include many of the nation’s leading science writers, including three whose work subsequently earned them the Pulitzer Prize.

The UW–Madison Science Writer in Residence Program is sponsored by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and University Communications.