U of G prof’s radio show hopes to connect youth through science
When he’s not teaching physics, Prof. Jason Thomas is entertaining audiences as the sideshow artist, Burnaby Q. Orbax. The world record-breaking U of G professor’s latest endeavour is bringing his live science show, Orbax and Pepper do Science, to the airwaves on CFRU.
Emily Matin: Can you give us a brief background about your role at the University of Guelph and your passion for science?
Orbax: I am the Science Communication and Media Officer for the Department of Physics. I did my undergrad and my masters here and I did two years of my PhD before I dropped out to be a full-time entertainer. About 10 years ago, I came back to doing sessional teaching here. In this last year, I got a part-time job doing science communication and outreach.
I always loved science growing up — that constant question of why and how do things work — and I was always taking things apart. For me physics was the hardest course that I was taking at university, and I felt since I was paying to go to school that I would do the hardest thing that I couldn’t do on my own. In doing so, I discovered my passion for mathematics and that fundamental push for understanding why. Why does a ball roll down a hill? Why can you see all these colours?
EM: You’ve broken some Guinness World Records. Can you tell us about that?
O: So [my lab partner] Sweet Pepper Klopek and I have 25 Guinness World Records we’ve broken now. They range from terrible stunts to less terrible stunts. The last one that I did was I had the most number of motorcycles driven over a guy on a bed of nails in two minutes. That was 70.
Pepper and I did this book, Guinness World Records: Science & Stuff where we got to do all these fun experiments that kids can do at home and in the process we attempted to break world records. The book includes weird science facts like interviews with a dinosaur poop collector. It’s a neat book because it goes over science that is a bit off the beaten track. Doing the book with Guinness World Records opened the door for us to interact with more young people.
EM: You’re starting a show on the campus radio station, CFRU. Can you tell us a bit more about it?
O: Well I finished all my training and I’m just putting together the concepts of the show with the hope that it will be approved and get to go on. CFRU is a great resource to reach the community because it’s a real mix of people in the university and people in the community, which is [why it’s] unfortunate that there are so many risks to it being shut down now. My hope is that I’ll get to do the show as a way of trying to reach young people. CFRU lets you stream, download, and podcast — so you can kind of reach anyone anywhere.
The idea behind the show is that I thought it would be neat to do a panel show where you get a couple profs and a couple students — undergrad or graduate — people who are in a certain field and put them together and tackle science issues that are in the news these days. I think there is a huge issue that takes place on campus where students, at the risk of feeling foolish, don’t necessarily come forward and ask questions and broach topics with their professors. And maybe this is a way to bring everyone to the same table and get insights from different people.
[The topics featured on the radio show] could be modern stuff in the news like what’s going on with landing on the dark side of the moon and where do the ethics levels go with genetic modification, or the gravitational waves discovered last year — what does that stuff actually mean?EM: As you are aware, Doug Ford’s Student Choice Initiative will likely affect CFRU. Do you have any opinions on this issue you’d like to share?
O: I understand that not everyone listens to the radio station and for some people it might seem like an archaic means of communicating, especially with YouTube and podcasts. One of the important things to remember is that while the transmission of that information uses an old medium, it appeals to so many people who are currently listening to it.
People are listening to CFRU all over the world. It gives a voice to people. It would be a shame that we would lose such an incredible resource. People get representation there that they might not be able to find anywhere else.
EM: Do you have advice for students interested in approaching science with the type of creativity and entrepreneurship that you do?
O: Just keep doing it. The one thing I’ve learned about entertainment in my 20 years of being involved is that nobody can ever fire you from show business. People who are creative and people who create can always create. You know you might not get 100,000 views on YouTube, but if you reach a hundred people who are very excited and want to see what you’re doing, you’ve still reached a hundred people.
So you shouldn’t give yourself markers of success that are based on other people. You should give yourself markers of success that are based on: Are you working on it? Are you getting better? Are you having fun and enjoying it? What I always tell people is to do it, put it out there, and also be open to criticism and take it to heart.
EM: Anything else you’d like to add?
O: I think it would be a shame if we lost CFRU. I know they have petitions available at the office to sign. But it would be a great thing to be able to move forward and do that show with two random students and open up that world of science and see what people think.
Feature photo by Karen K. Tran/The Ontarion