20 July 2006

'Science and the Sea' Radio Program Launches This Summer

THE TEXAS COAST — This summer, The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute (MSI) introduces a new two-minute radio program: Science and the Sea. The program takes listeners on an exploration of the unseen underwater world that covers three-fourths of our planet. Its entertaining stories convey how scientists approach, and ultimately solve, some of the oceans’ mysteries.

“There’s a rising interest in environmental issues,” said MSI director Dr. Lee Fuiman, one of the program’s two executive producers. “Hurricanes, climate change, and tsunamis are in the news. They all have to do with the world’s oceans.

“This program gives people a chance to learn more … about marine science, marine biology, the world’s oceans, how they work, and all the interesting bacteria, plants, and animals that live in the sea,” he said. “And we hope to convey how science is conducted.”

Holly Braly is the voice of Science and the Sea. She brings eight years of broadcast experience to the program, and is also a classically trained pianist and an avid surfer.

Don Dunlap, general manager of public radio station KEDT in Corpus Christi, Texas, is the program’s other executive producer. The station is partnering with MSI to produce the show. Stewart Jacoby, the station’s program director, produces the program, and news director Bill Clough handles the sound mixing.

Science and the Sea is written in non-technical language to appeal to a broad audience. Damond Benningfield, writer/producer of the long-running StarDate radio program, writes the scripts. The program is distributed by McDonald Observatory’s StarDate Productions team.

Science and the Sea is available free to public, commercial, and non-commercial radio stations, and is designed to be sponsored and underwritten locally. This summer, stations across the country are receiving CDs containing 13 two-minute programs, as well as a brief teaser for each show. As well, each week a different episode will be available as a podcast from the Science and the Sea website, online at http://ScienceAndTheSea.org.

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Contact Information: For more information, contact Vincent Perez, Marketing Manager for StarDate Productions, at 512-475-6765 or perez@stardate.org.