Three Emmy Nominations Have Duquesne Connections

The latest TV production of Dr. John Pollock, professor of biological sciences, has been nominated for two Emmy Awards, and a student production has been nominated in the College/University Production Awards category.

Pollock’s most recent episode of Scientastic! aired first on WQED and then on public TV stations in 34 states starting in 2014. The show, Are You Sleeping? Dorrmez Vous?, a health literacy project aimed at 8- to 13-year-olds and their parents, received two Emmy nominations from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Mid-Atlantic Chapter).

It was among five nominees for the Children/Youth/Teen Program or Special and garnered a nomination for Musical Composition/Arrangement for the original music and scoring created by Rick Witowski of Weirton, W.Va., working as Studio L.

Scientastic! is produced in collaboration with David Caldwell and Planet Earth Television with funding from local foundations and the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Additionally, as part of a news production class taught by Dr. Dennis Woytek, assistant professor of journalism and multimedia arts, then-student Samantha Barker produced a segment for a weekly “live at 11:30” newscast. Barker, who graduated magna cum laude in May with a major in broadcast journalism, served as producer-reporter for a news package about a fundraiser walk for blood cancer. A clip is available on You Tube.

“I am so proud of these students for the work they do and very happy to see that what we do in this class is helping students to get jobs in the industry,” Woytek said.

The awards will be announced on Saturday, Sept 19, in Philadelphia.