Ishmail Abdus-Saboor, a neurobiologist at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute, retraces his path to Columbia, explains his fascination with a rodent that rarely feels pain, and offers advice to aspiring Black scientists.

Positions: Producer, Cinematographer and Co-Editor

How cold is cold? For Sebastian Will, assistant professor of physics at Columbia University, it's a few millionths of a degree above absolute zero.

Will and his team of researchers at the Will Lab constructed the coldest place in New York. Now, they use the space in Columbia’s Physics Department to control atoms and molecules with laser beams. The highly sophisticated process, known as laser cooling, involves dozens of lasers and allows Will to trap single atoms, bringing them to a near standstill. There, in a small steel tube, lies the coldest place in New York—and maybe even the universe.

Positions: Producer, Cinematographer and Editor

Last semester, a handful of students at Columbia Law School enrolled in the Critical Race Theory Workshop. Taught by Nash Professor of Law Kendall Thomas and Professor Flores A. Forbes, The workshop is unlike most classes at Columbia Law School.

In addition to the Columbia students, seven formerly incarcerated people were invited to take the course and share their experiences with the class. At the end of the semester, the seven participants collaborated with the students to create a podcast series, CRT2.

“The class is about the podcast,” says Professor Forbes, who described the podcast as a way to talk about Critical Race Theory with people in and outside of the Columbia community.

Critical Race Theory, also known as CRT, is a legal framework that originated in U.S. law schools in the 1980s. In the video, Professor Thomas says that CRT is designed “to make sense of the puzzling persistence of racial inequality and of relations of racial domination and disadvantage after legalized Jim Crow had been dismantled.”

Over the past few years, CRT has received widespread attention outside the legal arena. But the Critical Race Theory Workshop at Columbia Law School focuses, as it always has, within the law.

Positions: Producer, Cinematographer and Editor

Artificial snow has been used to a varying degree at the Winter Olympics since 1980. But this year’s games in Beijing will be almost totally blanketed in man-made snow. When Beijing was named the host city in 2015, Olympic organizers knew they would have to create snow in Northern China’s cold, dry climate. But scientists warn that climate change is disrupting the games and could limit the number of places to stage future Winter Olympics. So, how will the Winter Olympics fare in a warmer world?

Marco Tedesco is a researcher at the Columbia Climate School who studies seasonal snowpack, climate change, and its economic impact. Porter Fox is a journalist and adjunct professor at Columbia’s School of the Arts. Fox has also written about skiing and climate change for various news outlets and is the author, most recently, of “The Last Winter.”

In this video, the two Columbians discuss the science of snow and ice, the games' reliance on snowmaking through the years, and what it all means for the future of the Winter Olympics.

Positions: Producer, Cinematographer and Editor

Lev Menand, associate professor at Columbia Law School and author of Columbia Global Reports’ “The Fed Unbound,” explains the initial steps that the Fed has taken to help stave off more of a banking meltdown that was precipitated by Silicon Valley Bank’s failure. He goes on to discuss how the Fed can only do so much and how Congress needs to intervene.

Positions: Producer, Cinematographer and Editor

“Rather than looking at static 3D views of things we can immerse ourselves in the 3D structure and look through it and see what kinds of features we might be able to find,” says Simon Tavaré, director of the Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics and professor of statistics and biological sciences. Visualizing tumors in three dimensions through virtual reality technology, Tavaré and his colleagues are able to extract new insights from the data.

Positions: Cinematographer and Editor

For the past two years, we have worn masks to protect ourselves and others from COVID-19. But with highly effective vaccines, treatments, and testing, will we have to wear face masks forever? Dr. Melanie Bernitz, Senior Vice President for Columbia Health, doesn’t think so.

Position: Producer and Editor

I shot both interviews for Columbia commencement. I created graphics, sourced archival, and edited the piece from end to end.

Position: Cinematographer and Editor

Who knew scotch tape could lead to such groundbreaking Quantum research (uh, not me). I had a ton of fun and learned a lot from Valerie Hsieh, a PhD student in physics professor Cory Dean’s lab.

To learn more about the “Scotch tape technique,” watch this 60 second doc.

Positions: Cinematographer and Editor

Check out this 90 second spot I shot and edited for Dear Mama, a local coffee shop on Columbia’s new Manhattanville campus.

Positions: Cinematographer and Editor

I edited this piece for Columbia Athletics ahead of the Lions first football game in nearly two years.

Position: Video Editor

Micah Abernathy, XFL player and grandson of Ralph David Abernathy, walks down memory lane in Atlanta.

Position: Associate Producer

Jimmie Johnson reveals what still fuels his competitive edge.

Position: Video Fellow, Associate Producer

NFL Wide Receiver today, top chef tomorrow!

Position: On Site Assistant Director

Learn about Jimmy Graham the pilot and proud supporter of US veterans.

Position: Video Fellow

Your favorite NBA big man visits the state fair of Texas!

Position: Video Fellow

UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic asks New Yorkers, “who should I fight next?”

Position: Cinematographer, Editor

Position: Video Fellow, On Site Director, Post Production Supervisor

Climate change is shortening ski season in Appalachia. This short film considers the economic and environmental effects of warming winters on the ski industry in the south.

One of two student films I directed at Wake Forest.

Film Festivals: RiverRun International Film Festival, Environmental Film Festival at Yale, Longleaf Film Festival, Boone Film Festival.

Educational Screeners & Talkbacks: Appalachian State University, Skidmore College, and Grace Church School HS.