Aiming to make our research more accessible, the Hanson research group will post five minute videos recapping each of our papers after they are published. This probably sounds like a very time consuming undertaking, but our group is very lucky to have access to GEOSET studio, a creation of our local Nobelist Harry Kroto.

Harry, a 2006 Nobel Prize winner for the discovery of the Buckminster Fullerene and current faculty member at Florida State University, has been heavily involved in outreach activities encouraging children and public involvement in science. Global Educational Outreach for Science, Engineering and Technology (GEOSET) is one branch of this effort. GEOSET is a free, online service that allows users to upload and view science-related videos. GEOSET videos mirror what students see in a seminar or classroom. Its dual-window format shows side-by-side views of the presenter and his or her presentation slides (or you can click to expand one or the other).

The process for creating a video is very user-friendly. All I need to bring to the GEOSET studio are myself and my presentation slides (quick aside: I don’t mean to underplay what may be a stressful activity for those who are camera-shy. It takes a lot to be a comfortable presenter. Thankfully, GEOSET makes it as easy as possible). The studio camera has a teleprompter that shows your presentation slides as you present. It’s a wonderful set-up that makes it look like you are presenting off the top of your head. After giving your presentation, just like you would at any group meeting, the in-studio software couples the recording with the presentation file and then the GEOSET staff post the video online.

There are numerous partner institutions around the world that have dedicated studios for creating GEOSET videos. At FSU the GEOSET studio is located on campus in the Dirac Library. Any student/faculty/staff can schedule an appointment, bring their presentation file (Keynote, PowerPoint, etc.) and quickly record a video.

The first GEOSET video from our research group is presented by second year graduate student Jamie Wang. Jamie recently published her paper “Modulating Electron Transfer Dynamics at Dye–Semiconductor Interfaces via Self-Assembled Bilayers”, in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C. Her research is focused on controlling electron transfer events at dye-semiconductor interfaces particularly for application in dye-sensitized solar cells.

I want to send a special thanks to Jamie for being the first group member to pioneer this Hanson Research group practice. She did a wonderful job and will serve as a solid example for future videos – a few of which will be available soon.