FUTURES was designed to motivate interest in mathematics by showing students that math is the language of the future--and a passport to creative and rewarding jobs in fields ranging from fashion and skateboard design to architecture and space exploration.
Each FUTURES episode combines scenes from Escalante's classroom, on-site interviews with professionals and appearances by celebrities like Arnold Schwartzennegger, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Cameron, Cindy Crawford, Jimmy Smits and Jackie Joyner Kersee. FUTURES has received more than fifty awards, including the highest honor in the field of broadcasting, The George Foster Peabody Award.
Watch a preview of FUTURES with Jaime EscalanteFUTURES Government and Civil Engineering Episodes:Statistics - Statisticians work in some of the most exciting careers there are. A specialist with the US Bureau of the Census talks about the daunting task of counting 250 million people in 160 million households. Political scientist Chris Arterton explains the role of statistics in politics. From statistician Dave Tuttle of the L.A. Dodgers and Billboard Magazine chart manager Terri Rossi, the message comes home that a solid understanding of statistics is the best way to succeed in business. Classroom guest: Arnold Schwarzenneger.
Water Engineering - Cities and farms need millions of gallons a day. How do you contain it? Move it? Filter it? Conserve it? Civil engineer Bernard Daly takes viewers through the huge underground valve chamber that regulates the flow of water into New York City. Civil engineering assistant Michael Deas and associate Suzanne Rowghani explain the workings of the massive California Aqueduct. Director James Cameron (Titanic) relates how he stored, heated and moved 7.5 million gallons of water for the movie The Abyss. Also featured are irrigation specialist Margarita Engle and CA Chief of Urban Water Conservation Keith Watkins. Classroom guest: James Cameron.
Advanced Transportation - A look at some of the best and the worst transportation systems in the US, focusing on the people who work to create innovative transportation solutions. Examples are James Powell and Gordon Danby, designers of a Mag-Lev train that travels noiselessly at 300 miles an hour on a cushion of air; and mechanical engineers Derek Hamilton and Kitty Rodden, working on a car that travels at 65 miles an hour on less power than it takes to run a hair dryer. Classroom guest: astronaut Guy Bluford.
Future Habitats - A fascinating introduction to the planetary scientists, architects, aerospace engineers, doctors and even artists who are working out ways to make life possible-and pleasant-on other planets, asteroids and the moon. Featured locations include the Space Studies Institute at Princeton, the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture, Rockwell International Space Systems Division, and the NASA-Ames Research Center. Classroom guest: Star Trek's Leondard Nimoy.
Each episode can be purchased separately for $24.95
