The objectives of the
Long Island Technology Hall of Fame are to recognize, honor and preserve the contributions, exceptional accomplishments, and dedication of historical figures or current leaders in science or technology who have had, or are having, an impact on Long Island.
Inductees are selected impartially from among individual nominees submitted by corporate, research, and academic institutions, as well as colleagues, peers, or other personal associates.
The LITHF Nomination and Awards
Selection Committee then determines the most qualified inductees according to intellectual acumen, lifetime achievement, overall impact on the advancement of science and technology, national prominence, contributions to Long Island's economic development and commitment to the Long Island community.
Bio:
Alan Alda is an acclaimed actor, director, and writer with a lifelong passion for science. As a
Visiting Professor in
Stony Brook University’s
School of Journalism, he is a founding member of the
University’s Alan Alda
Center for Communicating
Science and a champion for the Center’s work helping scientists learn communicate more effectively with the public about their work and why it matters.
Alan Alda became famous as surgeon
Hawkeye Pierce on the
TV series M*A*S*H (1972-1983). Since then, he has created a host of memorable characters on television (from Sen. Vinick on
The West Wing to
Alan Fitch on
The Blacklist); in scores of movies, several of which he also wrote and directed, and on the stage, in such plays as
Art,
Glengarry Glen Ross,
QED and most recently,
Love Letters. He has won seven
Emmy Awards and six
Golden Globe Awards, and was nominated for an
Academy Award for his role in
The Aviator. In
2005, he had the distinction of publishing a best-selling book (Never Have Your Dog
Stuffed: And Other
Things I’ve Learned) and being nominated for an
Oscar, an
Emmy, and a
Tony, all in a single year.
Yet exceptional as his artistic achievements are, they are rivaled by his contributions to improving communication of science to the public. His lifelong interest in science led him to host
PBS’
Scientific American Frontiers from
1993 to 2005, a role he once called “the best thing I did in front of a camera
.”. As a curious, thoughtful non-scientist, he talked with hundreds of scientists around the world and saw that they communicate much better when they carry on real, personal conversations about their work, rather than lecturing or falling back on technical language. He brought that insight to Stony Brook University, inspiring the University to create the Center for Communicating Science in 2009.
The Center, renamed in his honor in 2013, uses improvisational theater exercises, among other techniques, to help scientists learn to share their work and their passion more directly with the public. The Center offers courses for graduate students at
Stony Brook, workshops for scientists and health professionals around the country, and outreach activities, such as the
Flame Challenge, an international science-communication contest. The Center is building a network of like-minded programs around the country, with the goal of making communication skills part of the essential education of scientists.
Alan’s commitment to science has taken many forms. He is a board member of the
World Science Festival in
New York. He helped create the play QED, about physicist
Richard Feynman, originated the role of
Feynman on
Broadway, and delivered an inspiring commencement speech at
Caltech, where Feynman had taught. He wrote a play,
Radiance, about his scientific hero,
Marie Curie. He is a fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the
American Physical Society. He has been honored with the
AAAS Kavli Science Journalism
Award for his PBS series, The
Human Spark; the
American Chemical Society’s Grady-Stack Award for
Interpreting Chemistry for the
Public, the
ACS’
Public Service Award, and the
National Science Board’s Public Service Award “for his contagious enthusiasm in fostering wonder and discovery by bringing complex scientific concepts to all audiences.”
- published: 12 Jun 2015
- views: 117