The College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) is launching the Innovators of Tomorrow Video Contest to help budding scientists and engineers learn how to simply and effectively communicate their research. The contest was created with support from Stony Brook’s Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, which provides specialized programming to help scientists and health professionals communicate complex topics in clear and engaging ways.
The video submissions will be included in a Stony Brook STEM outreach campaign led by CEAS faculty to help educate K-12 students, teachers, guidance counselors and parents about education and careers in engineering.
“Engineering is all around us but, too often, the technical terms used to explain it can be intimidating,” said Monica Bugallo, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. “We want to educate anybody about engineering by creating simple testimonies that can be understood by guidance counselors, teachers, students and parents. Engineers solve problems by dreaming and innovating, so it should be accessible to everybody, everywhere and at any time.”
Videos will be judged within 11 categories for their effectiveness in communicating and answering the question: “What is it like to be an engineer?” The categories include different engineering disciplines offered by CEAS. Finalists in each category will be coached by the Alda Center to polish their final video entries for a public video screening event and award ceremony at Stony Brook in May. Winning entries in each category will be awarded $300 and their videos will be featured on the CEAS and Alda Center websites and social media.
The contest is open to Stony Brook University ID holders, competing as individuals or in teams of up to three people. Participants can create one video submission for each category with a chance to win up to two awards.
To assist students in their video production, on March 15 participants are invited to a special Alda Center workshop, “Create a Short Science Video with Your iPhone,” led by Graham Chedd, a visiting professor in the Stony Brook School of Journalism with extensive experience helping established scientists communicate their findings through television.
For more information and to enter the competition, visit the website.
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