Futures with Jaime Escalante
Module 1: Environmental Sciences

FUTURES was designed to motivate interest in mathematics by showing students that math is the language of the future--and a passport to creative and rewarding jobs.

Check out a preview from FUTURES with Jaime Escalante:

Renewable Energy- Energy can come from windmills spinning in the desert wind, changes in ocean temperature, steam generated deep in the molten core of the earth, or even from burning vegetation. Locations include California's Mojave desert, where solar engineers explain how giant mirrors capture the sun's energy, and Hawaii, where scientists experiment with tidal energy. Classroom guest: Ed Begley, Jr.

Environmental Science and Technology- Some of the most promising careers of the future will solve the pollution problem. Locations include New York City's 2,400 acre Freshkills Landfill and the renowned recycling program in the City of Seattle. Also featured: Amazon rainforest specialists, a "garbage anthropologist," and the unique work of musicologist Bernie Krause, who records and catalogues the sounds of nature. Classroom guest: Olivia Newton John.

Meteorology- How hard will the winds blow? Where will the lightning strike? Predicting the weather is the science of meteorology. In this episode, meet hurricane specialists, tornado trackers and other people who collect data on weather systems. Not all storms take place on Earth, as space weather scientists explain when they discuss the need to predict huge solar flares. Classroom guest: TV weatherman Spencer Christian.

Ocean Exploration- Oceans cover 70 percent of the Earth's surface-yet only a tiny fraction of the ocean has been explored or studied. Dive with oceanographers at Monterey Bay; see geologists examine rock samples from the ocean bottom; watch a remotely-operated vehicle collect delicate marine samples. Join the crew of the Columbus Discovery ship as they sight a ship that sank in the 1800's. Classroom guest: Eugenie Clark, "The Shark Lady."

Futures with Jaime Escalante (Individual Modules):

Module 2: Applied Arts
Graphic Design - Professionals include people who create posters for movies, and paintbox computer graphics artists at MTV.
Industrial Design - Telephones, refrigerators, watches, chairs-almost everything we use every day was conceived by industrial designers.
Cartography - From a remote peak where the US Geological Survey measures the angles and distances of distant ranges, to the powerful computers at the Environmental Systems Research Institute, cartographers collect and collate data about our environment, and find creative ways to present their data in two-dimensional and three-dimensional images.
Fashion - Art meets business in this fascinating look at the world of fashion, where viewers will meet some of the industry's hottest designers, retailers and buyers.

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Module 3: Design and Engineering
Aircraft Design - There's no question about it: human beings love to fly!
Putting Man in Space - In this award-winning program on space exploration, intertwined with dramatic scenes of astronauts weightless inside the Shuttle, "spacewalking", and magnificent spacescapes, are interviews with professionals.
Automotive Design - Viewers learn that the Penske Racing Team includes 105 people, and a range of careers that few people know about.
Architecture & Structural Engineering - Shapes. Once you start looking for them, they're everywhere.

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Module 4: Life Sciences, Sports and Fitness
Sports Performance - Whether it's football, basketball, hockey, skiing, baseball, gymnastics or snowboarding, amateur and professional athletes depend on a host of behind-the-scenes professionals.
Fitness and Physical Performance - For every world-class athlete or dancer, there is a team of doctors, trainers, physical therapists and nutritionists who make sure he or she is in top shape.
Agriculture - How do you feed the world with more and more people and less and less farmland?
Animal Care - Cheetahs slink around a field biologist as she makes entries about their behavior on her laptop computer.

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Module 5: Communications
Personal Communication - Fiber optics, digital transmission, two-way video conferencing, wireless communication via satellite-much of the technology developed for the space program is being used on Earth.
Mass Communication - Taking an idea, packaging it with sound and pictures and then transmitting it to millions of people at a time-that's mass communication.
Optics - Scanning the night sky for new constellations or capturing a moment of life in a photograph, mankind seeks to expand its vision through the use of lenses and light.
Sound Engineering - At a rock concert, Billy Joel is at the piano, but what comes out of the speakers is controlled by sound engineer Brian Ruggles.

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Module 6: Government and Civil Engineering
Statistics - Statisticians work in some of the most exciting careers there are.
Water Engineering - Cities and farms need millions of gallons a day. How do you contain it? Move it? Filter it? Conserve it?
Advanced Transportation - A look at some of the best and the worst transportation systems in the US, focusing on the people who work to create innovative transportation solutions.
Future Habitats - A fascinating introduction to the planetary scientists, architects, aerospace engineers, doctors and even artists who are working out ways to make life possible-and pleasant-on other planets, asteroids and the moon.