UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Aziza Baccouche, president and CEO of Aziza Productions, will give a talk titled “Seeking vision: The journey of a legally blind physicist and filmmaker,” at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, in the Memorial Lounge of the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center on the University Park campus. The lecture is part of Penn State’s Black History Month celebration and is free and open to the public.
Bacchouche, who was declared legally blind at the age of 8, is producing a personal television documentary titled “Seeking Vision.” She said that the film is about overcoming odds and not being able to see with your eyes. Through this film, she hopes to change the general public’s perception and attitudes about the abilities of visually impaired people.
Baccouche is a physicist by training and has always been interested in communicating science to the public through TV. This led to her founding Aziza Productions, a media production company that specializes in producing science-based films.
While working on her doctorate in theoretical nuclear physics at the University of Maryland, College Park, Baccouche received a Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was assigned to CNN’s science and technology unit in Atlanta.
During her fellowship, she gained hands-on experience producing science news video segments, which aired on CNN. This experience launched her career as a TV science producer and on-air correspondent.
After receiving her doctorate in physics in 2002, she became a science producer and correspondent for “Evening Exchange” on Howard University Television, a PBS-affiliate station.
As president and CEO of AZIZA Productions, Baccouche spends most of her time running the day-to-day operations of her company and taking an active role in her company’s production.
Talk is sponsored by Penn State’s colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Earth and Mineral Sciences, and Engineering and by the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity.