skip the i-GuideIllinois State UniversityAdmissions at ISUAcademics at ISUEvents at ISUMap of ISUISU A to Z ListingISU AccessibilityISU 150th Anniversary
College of Arts and Sciences News
Article Details

WGLT, Physics, Challenger Center Premiere New Program
President Bowman works with
The Challenger Leanring Center's
Janet Moore on an upcoming episode
Such wide-ranging topics as antibiotics, volcanoes, heat versus temperature, and the swirling direction of toilet water will be among those discussed on “Uncommon Knowledge,” a new 2 ½-minute science program that premiered on WGLT-FM (89.1 FM and 103.5 FM in Peoria) this past Sunday and will be aired every Sunday at 9:37 a.m. during NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday. The new program is produced by Illinois State University’s WGLT radio, ISU’s Department of Physics, and the Challenger Learning Center at Prairie Aviation Museum in Bloomington. “Uncommon Knowledge” is a program designed to briefly explain everyday scientific events with a light, but rooted-in-science approach.

 

GLT Program Director Mike McCurdy had been thinking about producing a science-related program, something along the lines of public radio’s popular “StarDate,” when Janet Moore, lead flight director at the Challenger Learning Center, approached him with several radio scripts she had written. McCurdy edited the scripts for radio and, with the assistance of Physics Chair Richard Martin and with Jay Ansher of the Physics department as a resource person, produced the new program. Moore, a 2002 graduate of Illinois State with a BS in Mathematics Teacher Education, and Ansher serve as hosts.

Other campus figures to provide their expertise on “Uncommon Knowledge” include Geology’s Liz King, Chemistry’s Frank Shaw, Biology’s Brian Wilkinson, Physics’ Raymond Zich, and President Al Bowman, who is a professor of Speech Pathology and Audiology.

This is GLT’s first production in collaboration with an off-campus organization in many years, but the radio station produces several programs with Illinois State departments such as “Poetry Radio” with the English department, “Tech Talk” with the Laboratory for Integrated Learning and Technology, and “Dean of Green” with Biology’s Don Schmidt.

WGLT FM broadcasts world wide at www.wglt.org



Return