TELEVISION
Spot News/Feature Reporting (20 minutes or less)
Julia Cort
NOVA scienceNOW
"Diamond Factory"
30 June 2009
In the winning program segment, host Neil deGrasse Tyson visited a production facility that makes diamonds good enough to fool a jeweler. The segment described the properties of diamonds, the advances in materials science that allow their manufacture, the advantages of lab-made diamonds over natural diamonds, and their potential use in fields such as electronics, transportation and communications. Warren Leary, a science writer formerly with The New York Times, called the segment "a good showcase for science and engineering that the public can understand and enjoy." Freelance science writer Brian Vastag said the segment gave an "entertaining snapshot of a technology that could change the field of electronicsA rare materials science treat." Cort noted that "chemistry is usually a tough subject for television, but this was irresistible, since the story also involved secret locations, a blindfolded host, 3000-degree plasma, and a character who regularly deals in 100 carat diamonds." She added: "I'm thrilled and extremely honored that the AAAS chose to recognize this NOVA scienceNOW piece, and I'm del
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| Contact: Earl Lane elane@aaas.org 202-326-6431 American Association for the Advancement of Science Source:Eurekalert |