FILMS
Small Town Universe paints an intimate portrait of life in Green Bank, West Virginia, home to the world's most sensitive radio telescope and the only U.S. town that bans Wi-Fi and cell phones. In this unplugged Appalachian community, scientists use the telescope to search for signs of extraterrestrial life and advance the field of radio astronomy. Interviews with residents reveal their attraction to (and challenges with) living apart from the rest of the country. When the observatory faces potential closure, it poses a threat to the community’s way of life: the local economy supported by the jobs it creates, the well-being of the individuals who have sought Green Bank as a necessary health refuge, and the incalculable scientific benefits it provides to the field of astronomy.
Winner – Global Health Competition – Cleveland International Film Festival
Post-Film Q&A
A filmmaker Q&A will follow the screening at the Lindsay Theater.
Deana White
Film Subject — Small Town Universe
Deana White is the Executive Director of the West Virginia Alliance for STEM and the Arts. She has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky and worked at a refinery/petrochemical plant in various roles including process design and environmental/safety compliance. She also home-educated her children, helped design a theme restaurant, and advocated for the Green Bank Observatory during recent NSF funding decisions with the public and key members of Congress. She now dedicates her time and passion to working on education projects, including leading a STEM and the Arts Film Festival, co-developing a web-based learning game platform called STEAM Trek, and working on other programs that promote curiosity and engagement in STEM and the Arts. She loves learning and hearing other people's life experiences, hiking and kayaking, playing games, and spending time with her family.
Ellie White
Film Subject — Small Town Universe
Ellie White (she/her) is a graduate student and longtime science geek. She is currently working on a master's degree in physics at Marshall University, where she also teaches introductory astronomy and physics classes. Through the years she has worked on research projects in the fields of astronomical instrumentation and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) with the Green Bank Observatory, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the UC Berkeley SETI Research Center, and the SETI Institute, for which she received the 2021 SETI Forward Award. Her other passions include astronomy and STEAM outreach and DEI efforts, and she is a founding member of the nonprofit, West Virginia Alliance for STEM and the Arts. In her free time, she likes spending time with her family, friends, and pets, enjoying the outdoors, baking obsessively, reading, and watching too many rom coms.