Paula S. Apsell  Paula S. Apsell (born July 4, 1947) is the television Executive Producer Emerita of PBS's "NOVA" and was director of the WGBH Science Unit. Among Apsell's signature award-winning NOVA productions are "The Elegant Universe" with Dr. Brian Greene, "Einstein's Big Idea" narrated by John Lithgow, and "Rx for Survival" in conjunction with Vulcan Productions. Apsell is widely considered among the most influential journalists in science communications and education in the U.S. and abroad. On July 4, 1947, Apsell was born in Lynn, Massachusetts. Apsell grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts and graduated from Marblehead High School. Her father, David Schwartz, was a navigator in World War II and her mother, Evelyn, opened the first consignment clothing store in Massachusetts. Her grandfather was a cobbler and an immigrant from Kiev. In 1969, Apsell graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in psychology. In 1983-84 MIT awarded her the Vannevar Bush Fellowship in the Public Understanding of Science. She studied evolutionary biology, and health policy among other topics. Apsell received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Southern Methodist University "for her central role in enhancing public understanding of science." Apsell's career began in broadcasting at WGBH. Apsell is an executive producer and film director. Paula Apsell began her broadcasting career right out of college at Boston's WGBH station when she was hired to type and distribute the stations daily program logs. Within a year she was hired at WGBH radio where she developed the award-winning children's series "The Spiders Web." She also served as an on-air newsreader and statehouse reporter for WGBH radio. In 1975, Apsell switched over to WGBH-TV as a production assistant for NOVA's second season. One of Apsell's first productions was NOVA "Death of a Disease" which was the first long-form documentary on the eradication of smallpox. In the late 1970s Apsell was producing documentaries on artificial intelligence and genetic engineering; topics that rarely existed in the mainstream prior to the 21st century. In 1981 Apsell went to Boston's ABC affiliate, WCVB, and was a producer for medical correspondent Dr. Timothy Johnson. At WCVB, Apsell produced "Someone I Once Knew," a groundbreaking program essentially introducing the story of Alzheimer's Disease and dementia into the public sphere.