 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Manhattan – In a world where science is often misunderstood and under appreciated, it is the stated mission of the World Science Festival to "cultivate and sustain a general public informed by the content of science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value and prepared to engage with its implications for the future."
The five-day 2008 event, which offered 40 programs ranging from lectures by Nobel Prize winners to science-themed dance performances at the Guggenheim Museum, was held at several venues across New York City from May 28 to June 1, 2008. Among the events were a street fair for kids, a daylong summit for the top scientists in the world and a "Science of Sports" presentation. In the midst of all of the world-renown science experts were two State University of New York at Cortland sport management faculty members and a graduate assistant. Daniel DePerno, an instructor and the director of the college's Sport Media & Technology Learning Center, gave interactive examples of Dartfish digital video analysis and sport performance technology to an audience of over 1000 at the Coles Sports Center at New York University. Joe Cooper, an adjunct professor, assisted with the presentation on GAITRite, software that measures human walking and running motion. ChangKi Bahng, a graduate assistant, provided the crowd a demonstration of Tae Kwon Do. Bahng is a sixth dan black belt. "It was an honor for us to be invited to participate in this historic event," DePerno said. "Some of the top scientists and researchers in the world were there, and it was exciting to see and hear that people are enthusiastic and interested in science. Understanding the practical applications of technology and science is increasingly vital as we engage life in our data-driven and science-enriched society. Our insight and demonstration of sports science hopefully made a lasting impact on the children and adults that attended." Tom Crawford, former Director of Coaching for the United States Olympic Committee and former Senior Director of the National Institute for Fitness and Sport, was the emcee for the Science of Sports event, which was taped live by the Madison Square Garden Network. Also speaking at the event were David Eagleman, Director of the Laboratory for Perception and Action and an assistant professor of neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine and Christine Greene, Altheus Health and Sport Director of Nutrition. Three professional basketball players, Leilani Mitchell and Lisa Willis from the WNBA’s New York Liberty and Brevin Knight of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, assisted in the event by helping about 10 elementary school-aged participants pick healthy food from a table as well as run through conditioning drills. Over 120,000 people attended the World Science Festival in 2008. Organizers are planning to make it an annual event in New York City that will continue to promote and showcase science. The World Science Festival is the brainchild of Columbia University physicist Brian Greene, and his wife, Tracy Day, an Emmy Award-winning former journalist. To produce the festival, the duo formed the Science Festival Foundation. It raised $5.2 million for this year’s event from a number of donors, including the Sloan Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. The group’s main corporate sponsor was Credit Suisse. |
