2007 Cosmos Award Honoree Paula Apsel

The 2007 Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation of Science was presented October 19, 2007 in New York City to Paula Apsel at Planetary Citizenship in the Next Space Age - Two Prizes. Two Planets. One Party.

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye the Science Guy® ask you: What does it mean to be a citizen of planet Earth 50 years after Sputnik changed our world?

In the fall of 2007 in New York City, Tyson, The Planetary Society’s president, and vice-president Bill Nye will combined forces on stage for a lively event: Planetary Citizenship in the Next Space Age. The two celebrated speakers will toasted (and perhaps roasted) everything from the current state of science literacy and space in a fun and free-wheeling event.

Paula S. Apsell is the Senior Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-winning series NOVA and NOVA scienceNOW, and Director of the WGBH Science Unit at WGBH Boston. Apsell joined WGBH's science documentary series NOVA in 1975 and has helped guide the program to its position as America's most popular science series on television and online. During her tenure, she has directed the series' diversification into other media, including its online presence on the PBS website as well as on iTunes and YouTube. NOVA is also the most widely used television series among high school teachers in classrooms across the country.

NOVA will continue to delve into a wide spectrum of scientific topics in its upcoming season with a program line-up that includes Secrets of the Sputnik Race, Ghosts in Your Genes, and Polar Dinos.

The TV newsmagazine NOVA scienceNOW was launched two years ago and is hosted by The Planetary Society's president, Neil deGrasse Tyson. Other recent signature NOVA and Science Unit productions include The Elegant Universe, Origins, Einstein's Big Idea, Forgotten Genius, and the large-format feature Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure.

Apsell has received several awards for her work, including the Bradford Washburn Award from the Museum of Science, Boston; the Carl Sagan Award given by the Council of Scientific Society Presidents; and the American Institute of Physics Andrew Gemant Award.

Engaging the public in the romance of space exploration is an integral part of The Planetary Society's mission. With his landmark television series Cosmos, Planetary Society co-founder Carl Sagan fueled the imagination of millions of viewers around the world. To honor the innovators who follow in this tradition of presenting science and scientists in an accurate, yet entertaining and enthralling, way, The Planetary Society created the Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation of Science.

Filmmaker James Cameron was awarded the first Cosmos Award in recognition of his IMAX films that have allowed audiences to join true-life adventures with real explorers that are as exciting as any fictional plot that Hollywood could devise.