Videos

How many people will come to Obama’s inauguration?

In 1995 Boston University’s Center for Remote Sensing was involved in a project estimating the crowd size of the Million Man March in Washington, D.C.  At the time, there was a huge controversy surrounding the actual number of people who had attended the event organized by the Nation of Islam. The National Park Service claimed the number to be well below one million whereas the organizers estimated a figure above one million people.  Dr. Farouk El-Baz, who is the director of the Center for Remote Sensing, was approached back then to provide a scientifically more accurate number that would help settle the dispute.

Ever since, he has become the nation’s leading expert in counting crowds. So with the historic event of President Barack Obama’s inauguration approaching, Dr. El-Baz has been bombarded with telephone calls from the news media. Everybody wants to know how many people can fill the National Mall. The following conversation between Farouk El-Baz and Magaly Koch (who also participated in the project) reminisces about the Million Man March crowd counting project and discusses the number of people who can be expected to fill the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on January 20th, 2009.

AAAS Video: Desert Dunes From Rolling Rivers?

Did you know that the Sahara Desert used to be green? We caught up with Farouk El-Baz, the director for the Center of Remote Sensing at Boston University. Find out how the Sahara’s sandy dunes were formed.

Farouk El-Baz: Thing About What Can Be

Farouk El-Baz: The Future is in The Hands of Students Today

Farouk El-Baz: They are Part of the Story

Farouk El-Baz: We Need them Today, Not Tomorrow

Farouk El-Baz: Apollo

Farouk El-Baz: Leadership

Farouk El-Baz: The Beginning of Globalization

Farouk El-Baz: Food for the Mind