Paula Apsell
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.