J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek honored by S.E.T. Awards

J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek is among several productions to be honored at the inaugural S.E.T. (Science, Engineering & Technology) Awards on November 17, 2011. Click over the jump for details.

Entertainment Industries Council Announces Honorees for Inaugural S.E.T. Awards

Avatar, Extraordinary Measures, Star Trek, Iron Man 2, Social Network, Drop Dead Diva, Simpsons, Bones, Burn Notice, CSI: Miami, Law & Order: SVU Among those to be Honored for Excellence in the Portrayal of Science, Engineering, and Technology

Films Avatar, Extraordinary Measures, Star Trek, and television shows Drop Dead Diva, The Simpsons, Bones, and Burn Notice are among the productions to be honored at the inaugural S.E.T. Awards on November 17, 2011 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The S.E.T. Awards, which are produced by the Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. (EIC) in collaboration with The Boeing Company as part of EIC’s Ready on the S.E.T. and… Action! initiative, honor productions for bringing attention to the fields of science, engineering, and technology.

In recent years while American interest in science, engineering and technology is at an all time high, fewer students are pursuing studies in these disciplines because they are perceived as difficult and not rewarding. As such, the U.S. is facing the growing threat of a diminished workforce resulting in reduced technological and economic competitiveness. The entertainment industry is uniquely suited to help inspire students to pursue rewarding technical careers and to play a role in filling the strong demand for jobs in science, engineering and technology.

“The aerospace industry is a leader in innovation and game-changing technology,” said Rick Stephens, senior vice president of Human Resources and Administration for Boeing. “Future competitiveness relies on access to a highly skilled workforce educated in science, technology, engineering and math. Partnering with the entertainment industry is a powerful tool to grab the attention of parents and students and create a greater interest in high-tech careers.”

“The entertainment industry is magical in reaching within the popular culture, and accurate depictions are key to having young people be entertained and informed about the wonders of science, engineering and technology and how to make the world a better place,” said Brian Dyak, President, CEO and Co-Founder, Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. “The submissions being honored at the S.E.T. Awards are proof positive of the commitment within the creative community to change the perception of S.E.T. related fields – making them an entertaining and exciting venture for today’s youth.”

Feature films being honored are Avatar (20th Century Fox), Extraordinary Measures (CBS Films), and Star Trek (Paramount). TV Comedy honors will go to an episode of Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva, the first season of G4’s It’s Effin’ Science, and an episode of Fox’s The Simpsons. In drama, honorees are episodes from Bones (Fox), Burn Notice (USA Network), CSI: Miami (CBS), and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC).

Also being presented are special awards in the disciplines of science, engineering and technology for portraying these fields in a positive and non-stereotypical way. ABC’s No Ordinary Family will receive the Scientist Award, Marvel’s Iron Man 2 will receive the Engineer Award, and Sony’s The Social Network will receive the Technologist Award. In addition, comic book legend Stan Lee will receive the Icon Award for the many scientists, engineers and technologists he co-created for Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Uncanny X-Men, and many others.

Honored TV Movies are NBC’s The Jensen Project, and HBO’s Einstein & Eddington and Temple Grandin. Documentary winners are The Universe and Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo (History), World’s Toughest Fixes and The Human Family Tree (National Geographic), and NBCLearn.com.

Included on the S.E.T. Awards Honorary Committee are Nina Tassler (CBS), Kevin Reilly (Fox), Ted Harbert and Marc Graboff (NBC), Nancy Dubuc (Lifetime/History), Robert DeBitetto (A&E), Stephen Friedman (MTV), Tom Calderone (VH1), Deborah Myers (Science), Lauren Michalchyshyn (Discovery Health & Fitness), Steven Schiffman (National Geographic), Emiliano Calemzuk (Shine Group), Vivi Zigler (NBC Universal Digital), Dawn Ostroff, Jeff Wachtel, Chris McCumber (USA), and Stan Lee.

EIC, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 1983 by leaders of the entertainment industry to bring the power of the industry to bear on public discourse regarding health and social issues. The organization is considered to be the chief pioneer of entertainment advocacy outreach and one of the premiere success stories in the field of entertainment education and information resources. EIC continues to provide critical and quality information for entertainment creators through innovative and time-proven methods of “encouraging the art of making a difference” from within the entertainment industry. EIC also produces the simulcast national television special PRISM Awards Showcase which recognizes accurate portrayals of substance abuse and mental illness, including prevention treatment and recovery.

EIC also addresses issues such as diabetes, ADHD, science and technology, women’s health, firearm safety, sun safety, human trafficking, terrorism and homeland security, eating disorders, obesity, and HIV/AIDS prevention. Its website is located at http://www.eiconline.org. More information on the S.E.T. Awards can be found at http://www.eiconline.org/ReadyOnTheSet.

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Sources close to the new Star Trek project say Benicio Del Toro is expected to be offered the villain part soon, maybe by weekend’s end. Insiders say Del Toro has met with Abrams but doesn’t know what the role is, in order to keep it a secret.”

Its nice the news is flowing again but how do we know this site wont take another long break again. I say this because I still wonder if this site will a reliable source for Trek news again? Not trying to be mean here.

Hmmm I wonder what villain Del Toro would play? hmmmmmmm

PLEASE. No one say it. Please.

Say what? All I plan to say is TREKMOVIE IS BACK!!!!! Also, great articles, Rosario! I really hope Anthony is OK!

This is great! Now if only we could get like,movie of the year or something!

Someone send a reporter up there to make millions of questions to JJAbrams about Trek Sequel… PLEASE!!!

:-) :-)

So no one even acknowledged the fact that Star Trek was among the movies nominated by the scientific, engineering and technology community for the way Star Trek presents science (fiction) to the public at large. That is actually quite an achievement in itself, even if JJ Abrams on behalf of Star Trek and Paramount doesn’t win the main award.

People seem way too obsessed and insular. Thank you for the article, Rosario.

Awesomeness!! Thanks for the news!

This is wonderful news and well deserved!

Science? Nailed it with Red Matter.

Engineering ? No one else in the category had an engineering department with a head on it.

Technology? You think lens flares just happen, fella? Nah-ah.

#12-
LMAO CmdrR!

No doubt there’re a lot of Trek fans among the S.E.T. awards group.

@ #12 CmdrR: Good one!

Congrats to JJ I guess. But does the world really need yet another self-voted award for Hollywood? Can’t they just pat each other on the back at their cocktail parties like the rest of us do for a job well done?

@12. Really? Taking more cheap shots at artistic interpertation? Hollywood routinely plays fast and loose with science, engineering and technology, and Star Trek is the worst offender without even taking artistic license into account. If Hollywood wants an award show for at least attempting to potrat SET in a positive light, that’s great, but lets not pretend this is anything other then that.

This is why Trek should be honored – they made the attempt to make it appear functional. Real life support that didn’t consist of magical boxes that made food appear and s*** dissapear, structure and construction instead of magical force fields that alway manage to hold things together, an engineering section with more then one warp core, and at least a nod to the fact there is no sound in space. Never mind if any of this stuff will ever work or not, but it was refreshing to see real people work in an environment where everyone wasn’t in their dress uniforms all the time, living in fear of getting a little dirt and grime on them.

#16

But why should there be dirt and grime on a futuristic starship in the first place? I don’t recall seeing any photos of oil stains on astronaut jumpsuits while they’re working “up there.”

Oh well, maybe that’s because the ISS didn’t get around to installing their micro brewery. Messy stuff, you know. Too bad the shuttle program was canceled. A booze powered space station would have been something to see!

Oh yes… moonshine indeed.

@17. The ISS and the space shuttle rely on ‘on the ground’ resources for all maintenance and supply needs. All of these functions will will need to be performed on any spacecraft that functions far from port. Of course, if this futuristic star ship has no moving parts, nothing wears out, needs to be cleaned, and none of the crew members eat, drink, piss or s***, then yeah I’d expect it to not get dirty or be maintained, either.

#18

That still doesn’t explain why the new Enterprise looks like a 19th century steamer ship. I’m not saying it has to be super clean like they’re making microchips down there, but the whole gritty, industrial bowels thing is a bit much. If they’re capable of matter-antimatter propulsion and energy matter transport, I think they can afford to hire an interior decorator. Maybe a few rugs and end tables to pull the room together. And a potted plant or two wouldn’t hurt.

Seriously though, as history has proven, the further technology develops the cleaner, simpler, and (usually) smaller designs get. The “pipes look” just didn’t work, and I’m glad to hear Scott Chambliss got the message.

The “engineering” section that we were shown on the JJ/Scott Chambliss Enterprise was not dirty. In fact, it was very clean. The fact that what was actually filmed was a modern brewery where certain hygiene standards had to be maintained – (they were producing products (beer) for human consumption), meant that it was a clean and tidy operation.

It was dark. It was dank. It was a brewery. It was a water treatment plant.
It was everything but good design.

But I can’t blame the filmmakers too much. They probably spent most of their budget on hair gel and lens flares… so I’ll choose to enjoy the engineering decks in a nice, ‘Plan 9’ sort of way.

@21. Okay, you need to move water from one end of the ship to another. Why is a pipe going to look any different in the 23rd century then it will now?

#22

I don’t know. Why does the engine room of a ship look different today than it did a couple hundred years ago? Progress, I guess.

But you make some good points, Phil. I hope the sequel focuses on nothing but plumbing. Abrams just may be onto something with this….

@23.
Well, a couple hundred years ago the engine room was a sail. :-) Regardless, they look different because most (Navy) ships have reactors instead of boilers. I just find it hard to believe that a 23rd century engineers job description should consist of swapping platic chips to unclog a pipe.
Okay, here’s the title….Star Trek 12 – Space Drains

Ah, yes. Plumbing. Then there are the toilets. The question of where does a captain take a piss has never been properly answered…:)

#24

I don’t believe I ever saw Geordi or Data—or the original Scotty for that matter—swapping microchips to solve a sewage problem. They seemed to have bigger issues—like keeping that big blue glowing thing-a-ma-bob from ‘sploding.

#25.

Yeah, but the scene featuring Kirk using the toilet as a seat in “The Final Frontier” gave us a good idea as to how Shatner came up with the story!

Also, on the issue of pipes, the TOS, refit, Enterprise A and E-E all had pipes, as did the Defiant from DS9. But they were in the background, noticeable but not distracting like the brewery was in the new “Star Trek” movie.

Why would the need pipes to move water when ToS replicators were more than capable of replicating that liquid on demand when needed?

#28.

There were no replicators on the TOS Enterprise, and even if there were, physical back-up sources, such as pipes and tanks, might be needed in an emergency when power might be too low or gone altogether. Water is just too important to depend solely on replicators for.

@28 The idea of replicators gets leaned on way to heavily in Trek lore anyway. Because physics tells us you cannot create something from nothing, for a replicator to work you would need some sort ot inert matter to be injected into the replicator to create water, food, spare parts, or whatever. It’s also not very efficient to have devices that (apparently) require a fair amount of energy to deliver the most basic staples of life. Last thought, when that replicated water gets turned into grey water by the biological unit, it’s gotta go somewhere, right?