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Canadian science radio producer to visit campus

September 29, 2008

Jim Handman, executive producer of the highly acclaimed Canadian Broadcasting Corporation science radio show “Quirks & Quarks,” will spend the week of Oct. 6-10 on campus as the fall semester University of Wisconsin–Madison Science Writer in Residence.

Handman will serve as a resource to the campus community during his week in Madison, sharing his expertise in communicating science to the public with students, faculty, and staff. He will also deliver a public talk titled “Why the Media Can’t Tell Their Asteroid from Their Ebola” at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7, in 4151 Grainger Hall.

Handman is one of Canada’s most respected and experienced science journalists, with more than 25 years under his belt at Canada’s public radio service, CBC Radio in Toronto. Before joining “Quirks & Quarks,” he spent a decade in Radio News, serving as foreign editor for the national news service and senior producer of the network’s morning news program, World Report.

Now in its 34th year on the radio, “Quirks & Quarks” brings scientific inquiry to life for its listeners every Saturday afternoon. During his time at “Quirks & Quarks,” Handman and his team of producers have won more than a dozen national and international awards, including prizes from the Canadian Science Writers Association, the Canadian Nurses Association, the American Institute of Physics, the American Geophysical Union, and the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association. He has also overseen the publication of two best-selling books based on the program, “The Quirks & Quarks Question Book” and “The Quirks & Quarks Guide to Space.”

In addition to his work at “Quirks & Quarks,” Handman has taught journalism at Ryerson University and Laurentian University in Ontario, Canada.

The UW–Madison Science Writer in Residence Program was established in 1986 with the help of the Brittingham Trust and continues with support from the UW Foundation. Sponsored by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and University Communications, the program brings a leading science writer to campus each semester.

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