Getting to the root of a story

Nematodes are usually bad news for gardens. But not always - as I just learned doing this piece on how they are tiny superheroes in one aspect of agriculture. These wriggly microscopic worms can actually be used as a tool in fighting larger corn rootworms, which are currently a major scourge of the Corn Belt here in the U.S.

The challenge for this video is that I shot it - both the interview and the b-roll - before seeing the written story it would accompany, so I did my best to try to imagine all the visuals I might need to illustrate the science. This was backwards from the usual approach, so I was pretty pleased in the way it ended up coming together.

The Western Corn Rootworm has found ways to resist insecticides, crop rotation, and even develop resistance to genetic modifications in corn that had proven effective against them for almost a decade.

I also worked with senior art director Jeff Chase again to illustrate what happens in this epic battle beneath the soil’s surface. The result is this short explainer video that we added as a card to the main story.

How do nematodes come to the aid of corn plants that are under attack by Western Corn Rootworms? University of Delaware researcher Ivan Hiltpold explains!

Read more about this research in this UDaily article >>

From the storyboard to the screen

Planning is key for videos - especially when it comes to animated sequences. I enjoyed helping to write this script and storyboard it, then watch it come to life under the graphic magic of my colleague, Jeff Chase.

A few shots of my planning sketches on the script, followed by the final video.

A multi-institution project is aiming to assess major threats to Delaware's water quality and develop viable technological and policy solutions for meeting these challenges through interdisciplinary research that integrates social and physical sciences.

Learn more about this $23 million grant here >

EDUC685 - Choose your own Marine Science Career adventure!

Navigate your way through these videos, using the links at the end of each one, to determine which careers in marine science might be a great fit for you! 

Uploaded by Lisa Tossey on 2014-11-28.

2014 Chesapeake Bay Bowl

A quick recap of the Chesapeake Bay Bowl, which was held on Delmarva for the first time this year - hosted by Delaware Sea Grant at University of Delaware's Virden Center in Lewes, Del. 

Budding marine scientists demonstrated an ocean of knowledge at the annual Chesapeake Bay Bowl in Lewes, Del., on Feb. 1, vying for a spot at the national competition in Seattle this spring. Held at the University of Delaware's Hugh R.