We see an apple-red helicopter taking off from a rocky outcrop and hear a voice saying, “The area we study is so remote. It’s kind of like working on the moon might be.”
That’s the leader of a research team from Northwestern University talking about a research expedition to study climate change in Greenland.
We then hear from a graduate student, who says, “I consider myself very fortunate to be able to spend a month and a half in the high Arctic at seventy degrees north.”
That is how a video called “Extreme Science in the Arctic” begins. It goes on to show the research team extracting sediment cores from the bottom of an Arctic lake and to explain the scientific and other challenges they face in collecting data in this inimical landscape. This video does a great job of showcasing the research of the Principal Investigator, Yarrow Axford, and emphasizes the incredible field experience her students receive.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts and on my About page, there are many good reasons for a scientist to take the time to produce videos. One of the most important reasons is to promote one’s research program to funding agencies, potential collaborators, and future students. A video can readily convey your expertise in a field of study, involvement in multi-disciplinary projects, or opportunities for students who work with you.
Videos can be especially effective in showing prospective graduate students what your research is all about, as well as something about you and what it might be like to work with you. A video featuring you and your current students conducting research on the Great Barrier Reef, searching for an endangered species in Central America, or investigating wetland loss in the Mississippi River Delta is a great advertisement. As a lab-based scientist, you may be exploring new ways to treat cancer or the genetics of mental illness. Even if you are not doing research on the hot topic of the day, you can still create a video that is appealing and that might interest a student who is undecided about a topic or a graduate adviser.
In planning your video, decide on a goal. Are you mainly interested in attracting top students to your program? If so, such a video should clearly show what students are going to be wanting to know about your program: Is this research program interesting? What does this research involve: field work or lab work or both? Is the professor a good adviser? Will I enjoy working with this research team? Will I gain unique experience in a topic that interests me?
Or you may want to create a video that summarizes the broader impacts of your research. Such a video may be used to meet the expectations of funding agencies (NSF, NIH), which ask principal investigators to show how their work affects society, e.g., via education or outreach.
A video can also serve to show potential collaborators where their research interests overlap with yours. Scientists rarely read papers in other fields. An interesting video, however, might attract viewers curious about your topic and spark an idea for a joint project.
Near the end of the “Extreme Science in the Arctic” video, a scene shows melt water flowing in a cascade off a multi-layered ice cliff. The narrator says, “This work will be used by scientists around the world who are urgently trying to predict how the Earth’s ice sheets will respond to a warming climate.”
Nicely done.
