Researchers from the UT Dallas NanoTech Institute will appear in a segment of the Public Broadcasting Service science television program NOVA on Jan. 9.
Institute Director Dr. Ray H. Baughman and several colleagues will be part of a story on the feasibility of building a “space elevator,” a concept that envisions erecting a 22,000-mile-high cable to transport cargo and people into space. In theory, such a development would reduce the reliance on rockets to boost payloads, thus dramatically reducing the cost of getting from Earth to space.
NOVA producers sought out the UT Dallas NanoTech Institute researchers because of their expertise in creating new, high-strength materials made from carbon nanotubes – materials that might one day be employed in constructing a space elevator.
NOVA will be broadcast at 7 p.m. Tuesday on Dallas public television station KERA Channel 13.
The award-winning NOVA program is the highest rated science series on television and the most watched documentary series on public television.
Contact Steve McGregor, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2293, smcgreg@utdallas.edu