WILL-TV story: IL Innovations - Farm of the Future

While working as a Multimedia Producer for Illinois Public Media/WILL-TV in Champaign-Urbana, I had the chance to produce feature stories about projects developed by the University of Illinois that affect people beyond its campus.

The first story was about the Farm of the Future - an autonomous farm that uses robots, drones, and other technology to produce agriculture. Watch it below:

Producer: Manu Ferreira

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 10/08/2023 02:18:00 PM

UChicago Neuroscience community reunited in the 2023 Retreat

The two-day event held by the Neuroscience Institute happened at the Q Center in St. Charles, IL. More than 160 people attended.

Photos: Manu Ferreira

The Neuroscience community at The University of Chicago gathered last Thursday and Friday, the 14th and 15th, in the 2023 edition of the Neuroscience Retreat. The event, promoted by the Neuroscience Institute at the Q Center in St. Charles, had a diverse schedule full of talks presented by faculty members, students, and guests, poster presentations, and recreational activities.

Among the list of speakers, there were national-recognized names in Neuroscience, such as Professor Aryn Gittis, Ph.D., from Carnegie Mellon University, and Marc Freeman, Ph.D., the Director of the Vollum Institute at Oregon Health and Sciences University.

During the event, faculty members, postdocs, and graduate students had the chance to present their research as well. Poojya Ravishankar, a rising sixth-year graduate student in the Computational Neuroscience (CNS) program, had attended the Retreat before but this was the first time she gave a talk.

"It's a huge privilege to share in front of such a good audience. It helped me to get better clarity about my project, and it’s also exciting to show something that you are very passionate about,” said Ravishankar.

Hagerah Malik, MSTP/CON graduate student in Arac Lab, also presented for the first time at the Retreat and said that despite the nervousness, she felt very comfortable in front of the audience. “I knew that they were friendly, and it just felt like a very safe place to talk about my research, answer questions, and engage with the community.”

Career development

In addition to hearing from neuroscience researchers, the retreat was also an opportunity to build community and participate in career development workshops. Staff scientist Gregg Wildenberg, Ph.D., presented “Demystifying the Chalk Talk”, a panel that aimed to help students to understand the best format and strategy to conduct that kind of presentation.

“I like the Chalk talk component because it's even still very mysterious for me. So, I appreciate the sentiment of trying to demystify it and sort of prepare students for that future inevitability,” said Wildenberg.

Professor Jason MacLean, PhD, highlighted that this edition of the retreat was “particularly good” because the community was there all together as more than 160 people attended the event. “You get a chance to catch up with people that you haven't seen in a while because we're all busy in our lives or doing our things. And then, you get to meet all the new incoming students. That is important.”

Retreat attendees also enjoyed social gatherings and recreational activities, such as playing board/card games, giant yard games, volleyball, biking, walking, and running on the Fox River.

Students poster presentations | Photos by Manu Ferreira

This article was published on the Neuroscience Institute website.

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 9/20/2023 01:28:00 PM

Crystal Pillar winner in the 2023 NATAS Mid-America Student Production Awards

 

My master's project show "Succeeding in a New World" won a Crystal Pillar in this year's NATAS Mid-America Student Production Awards! A ‘Pillar’ is the Emmy equivalent for student work.

I’m very proud and want to thank everyone who helped me to produce this show.

Read the story on the College of Media website.

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 5/09/2023 01:10:00 PM

Karma Queen | The story of Karma Carrington

Short documentary about the teacher, dancer, and drag queen Karma Carrington. 

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course Advanced Documentary Storytelling & Production. Master of Science in Journalism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Produced by Manu Ferreira 

Advisor: Prof. Alisson Wood

Copyright 2022

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 4/25/2023 12:40:00 PM

"Succeeding in a New World" Special Show

 

"Succeeding in a New World" presents some of the challenges that international students face while living abroad. From the language barrier and academic pressure to the difficulty of making new friends from other countries. The special presentation also shows how they overcome cultural differences to have a great experience in the US.

Producer: Manu Ferreira
Director: Emmie Larson
Advisor: Kenneth R. Erdey

Copyright 2022
University of Illinois

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 12/15/2022 08:24:00 PM

Moore's Rescue Ranch: saving and connecting disabled pets with people

 

Video issue story about Moore's Rescue Ranch

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course of Multimedia Storytelling.

Master of Science in Journalism at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2022

Produced by Manu Ferreira

Advisor: Prof. Charles "Stretch" Ledford

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 12/14/2022 01:46:00 PM

Urbana Museum of Photography: Keeping Analog Alive

Video profile story about the Urbana Museum of Photography.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course of Multimedia Storytelling.

Master of Science in Journalism at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2022. Produced by Manu Ferreira Advisor: Prof. Charles "Stretch" Ledford The Urbana Museum of Photography is located in Urbana, Illinois. urbanamuseumofphotography.com/

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 11/28/2022 07:16:00 PM

News Producer Reel - Fall 2022

In this reel, you can see some of the shows I have produced for UI7 Live in the Fall of 2022. I also work as an EP for the show. I am responsible for booking guests for live interviews in the studio, among other duties. 00:00-11:40 UI7 Block with coverage on Hurricane Ian in Florida + weather forecast 11:40-17:04 Coverage of Queen Elizabeth's death  

17:05-21:00 Interview with University Police Chief Alice Cary about violence on campus 

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 9/30/2022 04:42:00 PM