TechKnow: Best of 2014

STEPHANIE BECKER, TechKnow Field Producer - My favorite TechKnow spot that I did was the ALS Voice Message Banking. We told the story of how people with ALS were storing their voices before they were lost to the disease. I was humbled by our subjects who  graciously participated: former football player OJ Brigance who regretted not voice message banking, Nancy Campbell who was just starting to bank and most especially Holly Ladd, who had banked her voice and spoke through her computer in her own voice. This piece touched my heart because my gregarious Mom was also robbed of the ability to speak  and also because it so clearly embraced out mission to tell stories that are at the intersection of hardware and humanity.

MARITA DAVISON, TechKnow Contributor - My favorite shoot of 2014 was Wildlife Crime. Why? As an ecologist with a lifelong passion for conservation, I was instantly 'at home' with the subject area. This gave me a sense of camaraderie with the staff at the wildlife forensics lab, but having to come face to face with one of the ugliest issues in conservation made me the most uncomfortable I've ever been on a shoot. I was deeply affected by this story on a professional and personal level and found myself emotionally invested in a way that surprised me.

JD DAWSON, TechKnow Editor - My favorite story of Techknow’s 2014 season was the story we did on Biomimicry.  I am fascinated when humans look to the form and functionality of the natural world to improve ours. Imitating shark skin to craft materials that even bacteria cannot stick to; brilliance!

DAN DOWDING, TechKnow Editor - SHARK TAGGING segment is one of the most exceptional amongst all the episodes, not just because of it's spectacular slow-motion underwater cinematography. This episode spans the entire show rather than three separate segments. This allows for a much more in-depth (no pun intended) exploration of the subject matter which results in a more engaging episode from start to finish.

ANDREW LAMPI, TechKnow Assistant Editor - The Cord Blood segment is a look at the science and technology being used to help baby Grace and others repair damaged cells. It is amazing and heartwarming to see people using innovative technology to help others.

LAURA LEBLANC, TechKnow Field Producer - Our show on tiger shark research was not only my favorite story to produce of 2014 – it was a career highlight.  It was an incredible thrill to experience these awesome creatures up close (and I do mean awesome in its original sense, something that inspires great admiration, reverence and fear.) And the company couldn’t be beat – what better way to spend a week than on a dive boat in the Bahamas with a group of total shark nerd scientists and divers dedicated to preserving these animals, and my ingenious TechKnow team dedicated to documenting every aspect of their work.

JEFFREY MCHALE, TechKnow Editor -  Fracking!  It covered a controversial topic like no one else has done, looking at the relation between hydraulic fracturing injection wells and rise in seismic activity. It also featured a moment when the cameras turned on our crew in the field. 

LINDSAY MORAN, TechKnow contributor - My favorite story was innovations in treatment for PTSD - both hyperbaric oxygen therapy at Camp Lejeune and Virtual Reality at USC's Institute for Creative Technologies in California. It was exciting to see the way "strange bedfellows" have been made - of military brass and scientists and innovators. And also how the military is both devoting resources, and turning to science and innovation, to combat this pervasive problem. Everybody we interviewed - from the scientists to the researchers to the wounded warriors themselves - was hugely inspirational.

DIANA ROMO, TechKnow Field Producer -  Working on TechKnow’s Drought story was one of my favorite’s this year because I was able to work with some of the most distinguished scientists in the country investigating impacts of severe drought all over the world.  These scientists are based at NASA and Cal Tech’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California.Their enthusiasm for the challenging work they’re doing is inspiring.  It was a pleasure spending time with them, and following their journey in collaboration with other agencies and scientists to come up with ways to better predict and mitigate the impacts of a severe drought. 

SUZANNE ZIONTS, TechKnow Associate Producer - Spider silk was my favorite TechKnow segment of 2014 because I finally found an animal our dynamic field producer, Stephanie Becker, liked, and it was a baby goat. I also learned that there are certain compounds in nature like spider silk that are stronger than steel as researchers from all over the world try to imitate the formula for something nature has already perfected. It opened my eyes to the complexity of a spider’s web and the depth that researchers must have to tackle perfecting something already in nature.  

LAUREN ELLIS, TechKnow Associate Producer - My favorite TechKnow segment hands down was with Ecovative, a company creating an eco-friendly alternative to plastic packaging and home installation with mushroom fibers. The packaging decomposes naturally and gives back to the ecosystem, it's an innovation with a virtuous cycle. Take that styrofoam! 

JB RUTAGARMA, TechKnow Camerman - My favorite TechKnow story has to be Wildlife CSI. We take a closer look at a one of its kind team and its lab that uses cutting edge forensic tools & techniques to figure out where and how endangered species are being exterminated. Hopefully we'll start to see further prosecution of individuals in connection with this heinous trade of endangered animals.

STEPHANIE ROSE, TechKnow Production Coordinator - My favorite story of 2014 was The Drought, it was very informative and touching. We saw the human aspect of farm workers losing their jobs due to crops being killed with no rain in many many months.

ROBIN SAX, Show Operations - What I love about TechKnow is that I learn SO much about so many things that I would never independently learn about.  Like everything in my life, it’s impossible for me to pick just one. My top 3 favorite stories  were Cancer Sniffing Dogs, 49’ers Green Game, and Wildlife Trafficking because I learned something new and not in a superficial way.  TechKnow speaks to me--- a non-scientist, non-techy ---in a way that makes me care about innovation.