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Test Tube — an award winning video project which goes behind the scenes in the world of science — has just posted its 300th video — http://periodicvideos.blogspot.com/2011/02/test-tubes-300th.html
As well as the serious side of scientific research Test Tube features the wild, wacky and wonderful world of some of Nottingham’s most fascinating, innovative and entertaining experts.
Since it began in September 2007 Test Tube has left virtually no stone unturned in its search for stories — from scientific breakthroughs to the rejection of grant applications, from the search for new sources of energy to the discovery of new drugs and treatments. It has covered the highs and lows of scientific endeavour getting close up and personal with Nottingham’s top scientists, their colleagues, their families and sometimes even their pets.
Behind this hugely successful scientific resource, which has nearly 11,000 YouTube subscribers and has had approximately two million view views, is video journalist Brady Haran. Brady has also masterminded the award winning Period Table of Videos as well as Sixty Symbols and Bibledex.
Brady said: “I hope Test Tube has helped show scientists in a new light. They're more than just people you see on the nightly news, wearing lab coats and peering into glass flasks. In reality they're fascinating men and women who experience the full range of emotions — from the joy of discovery to the despair of failure. Their work is important — sometimes critical. But they're still normal people who can share a joke or read their children a bed-time story.”
In three and a half years Test Tube has had web visitors from 180 countries and territories, from Albania to Zambia, and received about 7,000 viewer comments and emails.
The 300th video takes viewers on a tour of The University of Nottingham’s new Technology Demonstrator — a show-room for many of the University’s latest inventions and innovations.
Brady’s ‘filmlets’ have taken hundreds of thousands of Test Tube fans behind the scenes to show science in a new light — warts and all.
The project has been overseen by The University of Nottingham’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Rudd. Professor Rudd said: “Test Tube broke the mould in the world of public engagement. It still delivers more impact per pound than any other form of science communication. It has catapulted The University of Nottingham into the limelight as a place where discovery, creativity and entrepreneurship are prized. It excites and stimulates a global audience and has created a new cadre of innovative communicators who are promoting the adventure, responsibility and philosophy that is 21st century science.”
Brady’s latest creation is Words of the World. All his video projects can be viewed by clicking on the following links:
www.test-tube.org.uk
http://www.sixtysymbols.com
http://www.periodicvideos.com
http://www.bibledex.comhttp://www.wordsoftheworld.co.uk
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham, described by The Times as “the nearest Britain has to a truly global university”, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings. It was named ‘Europe’s greenest university’ in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, a league table of the world’s most environmentally-friendly higher education institutions, which ranked Nottingham second in the world overall.
The University is committed to providing a truly international education for its 40,000 students, producing world-leading research and benefiting the communities around its campuses in the UK and Asia.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranked the University 7th in the UK by research power. The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health.
More news from the University at:
www.nottingham.ac.uk/new