[podcast] And the Award Goes to…

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For scientists, winning the Nobel Prize is a lot like winning an Oscar. Winning one comes with prestige and recognition, both from inside and outside of the science community. There are many other prizes and awards in science that are very prestigious, but you may never have heard of them. Science should be awarded and valued – after all, there is a great deal of groundbreaking science that will never win a Nobel Prize, but is still extremely important in the effort to understand the workings of the Universe. (In the same way, movies can’t get made without the folks they give the technical Oscars to in the non-televised ceremony!)

To celebrate the start of “award season”, we have a special presentation for you – the First Annual Blueshift Awards show, complete with Red Carpet and a Very Special Interview.
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[podcast] Making Data Beautiful

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To kick off our special summer series about data, we interviewed 2006 Nobel Laureate John Mather about the importance of imagery in communicating science and sharing data with the public.  More than just “pretty pictures,” data can be used to tell a story and explain the mysteries of the cosmos.  Not every piece of data would be considered a work of art, but the information contained is at the very heart of NASA science.  

Working with COBE and the James Webb Space Telescope, Dr. Mather is no stranger to the power of data and the importance of scientific imagery.  We got the scoop on how data is used in communication and why every bit of data is beautiful in its own way.  

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