Curious? Ask a Scientist!

Good ideas often seem to pop up out of nowhere. Take the recent experience of Ata Sarajedini, Ph.D., dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science: “I was driving to work one morning, thinking about how to bring FAU into more prominence in the South Florida community. I had the radio on and was listening to a talk show. I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the person hosting the show was talking about science at FAU? And if the people calling in were asking questions about science?” In that moment, a project was born: the “Ask a Scientist” radio program, currently accessible on the college's website and possibly destined for a slot on South Florida’s commercial airwaves.

Produced in cooperation with the “FAU South Florida Journal” podcast presented by broadcast journalism students of Kevin Petrich, Ph.D., the program has begun its life as a series of recorded QandA sessions, with Sarajedini asking questions and selected College of Science faculty members providing answers. The first three shows feature Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D., professor of biological sciences, discussing how nest temperature can affect the gender of sea turtles; Maria Fadiman, Ph.D., associate professor of geosciences, talking about the critically important relationship between people and plants, with a focus on conservation and sustainability; and Colin Polsky, Ph.D., professor of geosciences and director of the Florida Center for Environmental Studies, explaining how science is a tool used to better understand the natural world.

From this beginning, Ata hopes the program can move on to a live talk show format, giving listeners the opportunity to question FAU scientists on a wide variety of topics. “Recently, we’ve seen the rise of some skepticism about science,” he says. “Direct dialogue will create greater understanding of what science is all about and build the community’s trust in scientists.”

All that is needed now is recognition of the value of such a program by a South Florida radio station willing to add “Ask a Scientist” to its regular scheduling. “FAU scientists have a tremendous amount of knowledge to offer the community,” Sarajedini said. “We look forward to giving radio listeners the opportunity to tap into this knowledge through ‘Ask a Scientist.’ ”

Tune into 'Ask a Scientist' every month for new interviews with scientists here.