March 15, 2006

UCSD-TV Programs Receive Four Telly Awards

By Alison Gang

University of California, San Diego Television (UCSD-TV) has received a total of four Telly Awards, an international competition honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs. The winning programs demonstrate the diversity of UCSD-TV’s content with topics like nanoscience, dance, and robots working in hospitals.

Two Bronze awards went to “When Things Get Small,” a comically corny romp into the real-life quest to create the smallest magnet ever known. The first honor was in the Use of Special Effects category and the second was for Documentary/Internet/Online Segments for “When Things Get Small – Behind the Scenes,” which takes a look at the creative process of turning science into entertainment. Produced by Not Too Serious Labs, the creative collaboration of UCSD-TV producer Rich Wargo and renowned physicist Ivan Schuller (who also stars in the program), “When Things Get Small” was funded by the National Science Foundation, and produced in partnership with the UCSD-based California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2).

UCSD-TV’s programming partnership with La Music Society’s annual SummerFest series was also awarded a Bronze Telly for producer John Menier. Recognized in the Documentary category, “SummerFest 2005: Collaborating to Beethoven” explores the creation of a new dance work by acclaimed choreographer Allyson Green, set to Beethoven's String Quartet in F-Major, Op. 18, No. 1. Green's project collaborators include the creme-de-la-creme of San Diego area dancers, and four musicians drawn from SummerFest's Young Artists Program.

In the Education category, a Silver Telly was awarded to UCSD-TV’s Shannon Bradley, producer of University of California Television’s (UCTV) magazine program “State of Minds: Spring 2005.” Shot around the UC Davis campus, the program features segments about UC Davis student firefighters, a robot used in hospitals from UCLA, a UC Riverside bioreactor used for turning carbon-based garbage into clean diesel fuel, and research at UC Berkeley to create “smart” street intersections.

UCSD-TV offers programming unlike anything else in San Diego. Launched in 1993, UCSD-TV is a non-profit, non-commercial broadcast station that provides viewers with locally produced, regionally focused programs that enrich the public’s awareness of new ideas, key issues and local events. UCSD-TV airs on Cox Cable Ch.66; North County Cox Cable Ch.69; Time Warner Cable Ch.18; Adelphia Cable Del Mar Ch. 68; or UHF (no cable) Ch. 35. For more information about UCSD-TV, visit www.ucsd.tv

Media Contact: Alison Gang (858) 822-5060.