February is Black History Month and to commemorate the contributions and impact of African Americans to the STEM field, we invited Dr. Aziza Baccouche to give a lecture to members of the student body at University Park.

Dr. Aziza Baccouche is a nuclear physicist by training and is currently working as a science media producer in affiliation with AZIZA Productions, a science media production company established in 2000. While working on her Ph.D. in theoretical nuclear physics at the University of Maryland at College Park, Dr. Baccouche received a Mass Media Science & Engineering fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and was assigned to CNN’s science and technology unit in Atlanta Georgia. During her fellowship, she gained hands-on experience producing science news video segments that aired on CNN’s newscasts. This experience launched her career as a TV science producer and on-air correspondent. After receiving her doctorate in physics in 2002, Dr. Aziza became a regular science producer and correspondent for Evening Exchange on Howard University Television, a PBS affiliate station. As president and CEO of AZIZA Productions, Dr. Baccouche spends most of her time running the day-to-day operations of her company and takes an active role in her company’s production.

Throughout her career, Dr. Baccouche has faced many challenges not only as an African American woman in Science but also has as a legally blind one. Dr. Baccouche started losing her sight at the young age of 6 years old due to a brain tumor and has gone through 9 brain surgeries since then. Despite these many challenges, Dr. Baccouche has persevered through, and remained resilient and committed to her goals and purpose. Dr. Baccouche  is currently producing a personal television documentary titled “Seeking Vision.” Through this film, she hopes to change the general public’s perception and attitudes about the abilities of legally blind and other disabled people. Last week, on Wednesday, our EnvironMentors students had the great opportunity to meet with Dr. Baccouche and listen to her share her story.