NOVA’s Paula Apsell Named Senior Executive Producer Emerita

Paula Apsell, the award-winning science journalist who guided the PBS program “NOVA” to worldwide acclaim as the most popular science program on American television and online, has been named Senior Executive Producer Emerita. The announcement comes as Apsell retires from Boston public television station WGBH, where she spent more than four decades.

“Paula’s remarkable talent and dedication to science literacy has kept NOVA at the forefront of science media,” said WGBH President Jonathan Abbott. “She has worked to advance the public understanding of science for generations of NOVA viewers. I am pleased to appoint her Senior Executive Producer Emerita.”

In 2018, Apsell was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences. This week, WGBH announced it is establishing an annual scholarship in her name in recognition of Apsell’s distinguished service and steadfast support of science education. The Paula S. Apsell/WGBH STEM Boston Public School Scholarship will be granted to Boston public school students who plan to study in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics at the college level.

“I am honored to have this scholarship bear my name and hope it provides the opportunity for students to realize their dreams of studying in a STEM field,” said Apsell. “I wish to thank WGBH, the team at NOVA, and our independent producers for their tremendous support over the years. Whatever I have accomplished, it is because of those talented, dedicated and hardworking individuals.”

In 1975, Apsell joined NOVA, producing science documentaries on subjects as varied as smallpox eradication, genetic engineering and artificial intelligence. In 1985, after spending a year as a Knight Fellow in Science Journalism at MIT, she returned to NOVA as Executive Producer, remaining at the helm for 33 years and introducing such innovative miniseries as Origins with Dr. Neil de Grasse Tyson and The Elegant Universe hosted by Dr. Brian Greene. Under her leadership, NOVA earned Emmy, Peabody, and duPont Gold and Silver Baton awards. She served on the board of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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