Nova producer delves into art of science television

Paula S. Apsell, executive producer for public television’s science series Nova, has been named this fall’s Science Writer in Residence.

Apsell will spend the week of Oct. 15 at UW–Madison visiting classes and working individually with students, staff and faculty to provide insight into the business of producing science documentaries. She will also give a free public lecture, “The Art of Science Television,” at 4 p.m. on Tuesday Oct. 17, in Room 2120 of Grainger Hall.

Apsell began her career in broadcasting typing television program logs at WGBH in Boston. She joined Nova as a producer in 1975, and later worked for the Boston ABC affiliate as a senior producer for medical programming. In 1983, she spent a year studying at MIT as a Knight Fellow. She rejoined Nova in 1984 as its executive producer.

Apsell has produced a number of critically acclaimed Nova episodes as well as many award-winning WGBH Science Unit specials, including “A Science Odyssey,” “Secrets of Lost Empires,” “Building Big” and, recently, the eight-part miniseries “Evolution.”

Today, Nova is the most popular science series on American television and the Web.