Science Fairs And TV Shows, Oh My

Some announcements going into the weekend:

In advance of Pi Day (3/14), which is also Albert Einstein’s birthday, PBS has announced a new math special.  Mario Livio will host a NOVA special called The Great Math Mystery, premiering April 15.  Livio is an astrophysicist, science and math writer, and fan of science/culture mashups.  The mystery of the title is whether math(s) is invented or was discovered.

The Entertainment Industries Council is seeking votes for its first SET Award for Portrayal of a Female in Technology.  Nominations for the award were taken from the public over YouTube.  Voting on the award is via a Google form, so you will need a Google account to participate.  The nominees appear to be most of the women playing characters with technical jobs in television programs or recent films.  They are:

• Annedroids on Amazon
• Arrow: “Felicity Smoak” played by Emily Bett Rickards
• Bones: “Angela Montenegro” played by Michaela Conlin
• Criminal Minds: “Penelope Garcia” played by Kirsten Simone Vangsness
• Halt and Catch Fire: “Cameron Howe” and “Donna Clark” played by Mackenzie Davis and Kerry Bisché
• How to Build a Better Boy: “May” and “Gabby” played by China Anne McClain and Kelli Berglund
• The Imitation Game: “Joan Clarke” played by Keira Knightley
• Interstellar: “Murph” played by Jessica Chastain, Ellen Burstyn and Mackenzie Foy (at various ages)
• Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “Skye” played by Chloe Bennet
• NCIS: “Abby Sciuto” played by Pauley Perrette
• NCIS: Los Angeles: “Nell Jones” portrayed by Renee Felice Smith
• Scorpion: “Happy Quinn” played by Jadyn Wong

I’d be interested in knowing (in the comments) who you think was missed.

Finally, the White House still loves it some Science Fair.  This week it announced that the next White House Science Fair will take place later this month – March 23.  Personally, I would prefer there to be some buildup to this event rather than just an announcement shortly before the fair.  After all, doesn’t the White House want to reach young people that may not already be plugged into the science fair ecosystem?  By this point in the calendar, I would expect everyone who will demonstrate their projects has been selected.  What about that young person wondering if they can find themselves explaining their work to the President?  It’s not obvious how they would make that happen.

What a missed opportunity.