The 2013 Art of Science Exhibit is Open

Yesterday the 2013 Art of Science Exhibit opened in the Friend Center on the campus of Princeton University.  NBC News has a story up with an online gallery that includes the winners and other amazing photos.  Congratulations to all, and especially my PPPL colleague Chris Cane for his wonderful image that won 3rd place!

Connections: The 2013 Art of Science competition!

This morning, the 2013 Princeton University Art of Science competition announced that it is now accepting submissions.  The full announcement was written by Teresa Riordan and is here:  http://www.princeton.edu/engineering/news/archive/?id=9926.  You can also go to the main web site for more information:  http://www.princeton.edu/artofscience/.

CONNECTIONS' IS THE THEME OF ART OF SCIENCE 2013

Posted Mar 22, 2013By Teresa Riordan

Submissions for the 2013 Princeton University Art of Science Competition are now being accepted. The deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m., Sunday, April 7, 2013.

The Art of Science exhibition explores the interplay between science and art and consists of images produced during the course of scientific research that have aesthetic merit. The competition is open to the entire Princeton community, including undergraduates, faculty, research staff, graduate students, and alumni. For submission guidelines, please see this FAQ.

 

The theme for the 2013 exhibit is "Connections."

 

"We chose 'connections' as the theme because it is such a rich and wide-ranging concept," said Victoria Sanchez, a graduate student in chemical and biological engineering who is one of the Art of Science organizers. "We are curious as to how 'connections' are important in the research that takes place across the many different laboratories at Princeton."

 

Andrew Zwicker, another Art of Science organizer who is director of science education at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, said that some of the most exciting scientific discoveries have come from breaking down the traditional walls that separate scientitfic disciplines.

 

"For example with physics and biology every day there is a new finding showing that the two are connected in the most fascinating and profound way," Zwicker said. "In a similar vein, connecting the aesthetics of laboratory images to their scientific importance has transformed how we look at our data and results. With the 2013 Art of Science competition we are celebrating all manner of connections."

 

The top three entrants will be awarded cash prizes in amounts calculated by the golden ratio (whose proportions have since antiquity been considered to be aesthetically pleasing): first prize, $250; second prize, $154.51; and third prize, $95.49.

 

The opening reception for this year's exhibit will be at 4:30 p.m., Friday, May 10, in the Friend Center Atrium. Everyone from the Princeton community is invited to attend.

 

The prize winners will be selected by a distinguished panel of judges, who are expected to be David Dobkin, Dean of the Faculty; Emmet Gowin, professor of Visual Arts; Paul Muldoon, professor of creative writing; James Steward, director of the Princeton Art Museum; and Shirley M. Tilghman, President.

 

The exhibit also be displayed in an online gallery.

 

Art of Science 2013  is sponsored by the David A. Gardner '69 Fund in the Council of the Humanities, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. It is co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean for Research, Lewis Center for the Arts, PICSciE, Keller Center, Office of the Vice President for Facilities, Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, theCooperative Institute for Climate Science, and the departments of Astrophysical Sciences, Computer Science, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Molecular Biology, Physics, and Psychology.

 

In addition to Sanchez and Zwicker, the organizers for Art of Science 2013 are Zach Donnell, Department of Molecular Biology; Adam Finkelstein, Department of Computer Science; Teresa Riordan, School of Engineering and Applied Science. 

Breaking Down the Wall Between Art and Science

The 5-year retrospective of the Princeton Art of Science competition which is now on display at the Liberty Science Center has been extended until September due to its popularity.  The NJTV show, "State of the Arts" recently aired a segment on the gallery and I had the pleasure of being a part of that. You can see the clip here:  NJ TV "The Art of Science" or simply watch below.

Watch The Art of Science and The Search for an Absolute on PBS. See more from State of the Arts.

Five Years of the Princeton Art of Science

We've now had five Princeton University Art of Science competitions and the best of those shows is on display at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ.  The gallery was curated by Teresa Riordan of the School of Engineering and details can be found online.  The NJ Today news station recently did a story on the exhibit and I had the privilege of being interviewed as part of the story.  I've already been told that I have to learn to keep my hands in my pockets, but you'll have to decide that for yourself!  Click here to see the full video.

Knowing Science - Part Deux

A teacher getting ready to "know science."
Note the high tech safety goggles I'm wearing to
protect me from any "non-science."

Inspired by Michael Scott and my last blog post, I had the opportunity last week to help several thousand students and their teachers "know science."  Just as Hurricane Sandy was turning towards New Jersey, we headed up to Providence, RI for the annual American Physical Society's Division of Plasma Physics annual meeting.  It's our community's chance to share our recent results and learn about the latest developments in the field.  As part of our outreach efforts, we invite local school teachers for a professional development day on the Tuesday of the week and then local middle and high school students to a "Science Expo" where laboratories from around the country bring a variety of hands-on demonstrations related to plasmas and fusion energy.  PPPL brings plasma balls, half-coated fluorescent light bulbs, vacuum pumps, our plasma speaker, a Jacob's Ladder, and, of course, a van de Graaff generator. That's the shiny metal ball that you put your hand on and it makes your hair stick up straight. It's sort of like rubbing your feet on the carpet and then getting a shock when you touch the door knob, but the effect is amplified.  The van de Graaff builds up a static charge on its surface and if you touch it that charge moves to your skin and hair.  This static charge is simply a build up of electrons and they are all negatively charged.  Since like charges repel and your hair now has a negative charge, your hair strands are repelled from each other and they stand straight up.  Voila!  You now know science.

Why Science? or Why-Sci?

Every time I read this quote from "The Office" I smile.  I've helped literally thousands of people put their hands on that metal ball which is also called a Van der Graaf generator.  Some ask the question, "Why?"  They want to know why electrical charges are transferred from the metal ball to their body, and figure out that since similar charges repel each other the result is literally hair raising. Many more, however, touch the metal ball and move on.  The interesting question to ask is what did that person take away from the experience?  Do they now "know science?"  Or, most importantly, do they now know "Why Science?"

As a science educator, part of my job is to help people understand a particular scientific concept, such as the definition of a plasma. We can look at how plasmas are used to make computer chips, fluorescent light bulbs, or as a future source of electricity. We can talk about the importance of plasmas in everyday life.  We can move from there to asking how plasma physics research is funded, how much is from the private sector and how much is from the federal government.  If the discussion goes further, we can ask whether this research is of sufficient "value" to justify spending our tax dollars. Does basic research have equal value to applied research?  Should the US government fund research that may not succeed?  (Yes, that's why it's called research.) Should we fund research without a clear application, knowledge gained for the sake of understanding?  (Yes, there are countless examples of basic research leading to new technologies and human beings are inherently curious about how the universe works.)  Should the US government fund research that has tremendous potential but no obvious short-term payoff?  (Yes, that's exactly what should be funded since the private sector is concerned about profit and return on investment.)

Not everyone agrees with these statements (though they should). The problem is that it is difficult for the non-scientist to "know science," and to know the value of science. This problem lies squarely on the shoulders of the scientists.  We simply do not do a good enough job of explaining what we do and why we deserve a chance to spend our neighbor's tax dollars.

My colleague Laura Berzak Hopkins decided to do something about this.  She realized that there is no place, no book, no web site that someone could go to and learn about publicly funded research in language that a non-scientist could understand.  Thus, Why-Sci was born.

Quoting from the web site,

Understanding the world around us – from galaxies to single cells – and a desire to deepen that knowledge and change the world drives the pursuit of scientific research. For the scientist, our families, friends, neighbors, and communities often have little understanding of what we do, why it is important to them (as opposed to us), or why their tax dollars should go towards our research. And, there are few (if any) approachable outlets that convey the answers to these critical questions. The ultimate responsibility to build this outlet and communicate the beauty and importance of what scientists do lies with scientists. 

That’s the motivation behind Why-Sci, we want to give the scientist an outlet to explain research to the non-scientist and provide the non-scientist with a forum to learn about ongoing research. 

There’s no other online portal for communicating all branches of science clearly and succinctly and connecting non-scientists with scientists. Our goal is, like scientific research, to take an idea – grow it, build it, and let it develop. The rest is up to you.

Just like a new idea, the site is growing and taking on a life of its own.  If you are a scientist, submit a description of your research to Why-Sci.  If you are not a scientist, check out what's there and judge for yourself the value of this research.  

Even if you can't touch a metal ball and make your hair stick up straight, you can still know science.

How Much Is Just Right?

My father, Al Zwicker, died one year ago today. He was 88 and his last breath was peaceful, surrounded by family.  He was cremated, as he wanted, and we had a memorial service that was more of a celebration than it was a funeral with folk dancing, drumming, bagels and lox. (as explicitly requested in his will!)  After the memorial service, we went to one of his favorite places, The Flat Rock Brook Nature Center and scattered some of his ashes in the pond.  My stepmother took some of the ashes and spread them in her vegetable garden (she told me yesterday that her tomatoes were larger than normal), and I took the rest of the ashes and put them on a shelf until today.

During the past year, I had decided that I wanted to spread the rest of his ashes in the ocean using my surfboard to go out beyond where the waves were breaking and scatter them surrounded by the smooth, clear, and peaceful water.  My dad certainly wasn't a surfer, in fact he didn't even like the beach, didn't like sand between his toes.  But this plan felt really good, felt right and, after all, he couldn't do anything about it at this point.  I had asked whether anyone else in the family wanted to keep some of the ashes and my sister had said yes.  I also thought I should keep extra just in case someone else wanted some later.  There was just one problem.  I needed to decide how much of his remaining ashes to hold back.  And that leads to an interesting question, "How much?"  How much is too little?  How much is too much?  A teaspoon of ashes certainly seems too little, too cheap.  A cup?  A pound?  1/2 of what I had left?  1/3?  Clearly there's no "right" answer, but at the same time I have to choose some amount.  And this isn't flour and a recipe for a cake.  So, all I could do is what I always do, all anyone could do, and in the moment just make a decision based upon what felt right at that exact moment.

I woke up early and checked the surf report -- light winds, small waves, warm water -- perfect conditions for my plan and perfect to surf when I was done. Went to the kitchen, got a large zip lock storage bag and a big plastic serving spoon.  (Thought I should have something better than a generic plastic spoon and then decided it didn't really matter.) Walked out to the car, got the cardboard box that the ashes came in, took out the thick plastic bag inside, undid the twist tie, and transferred a big scoop of dad into the new bag.  And then another.  And another. 4 scoops, then 5. (I probably had about 3 pounds total.)  I kept on looking into the big bag and thought, take more.  And I did until I hesitated and said, just one more.  And that was the perfect amount.  I tied the original bag back up, used the garden hose to wash off the spoon so any ashes remaining on it went into the dirt surrounding the plants on the side of the house, and then carefully zipped the new bag, rolling it and squeezing the air out of the bag as I rolled.  (Hmmm, reminded me of something else...)  Now it was sealed shut and my big plan was to put the bag inside my wet suit top, hoping it didn't leak and that it didn't slide out as I paddled.

So I walked up to the beach, my board in one hand, Dad in the other, until I got to the edge of the water.  Then I put board down, put the bag on top of the board so I could stretch, but also spend some time meditating on him, the past year (too many people I loved died), and what I was about to do.  I felt this weight, a sadness. I missed hearing his voice when he called ("Pop here...") and some nervousness over whether I was going to make a mess of my plan.  However, nothing to do but slide the bag into the wet suit, adjust the bag until it was over my heart, tie the surfboard leash to my ankle and plunge in.

Most of the waves were small and I got most of the way out before a larger set of waves came in and I was caught in the area where they were not going to break on me directly but I couldn't just try to ride over them either.  So I hopped off the board, grabbed the bag under my wet suit with one hand, the board with the other and dove under.  Hopped back on the board, felt the bag had slid down towards my stomach but was still there, lay down on the board and the bag and paddled out past the break.

Once I was there I sat up on the board, pulled the bag out (no leaks) and looked around me.  The sun was still low in the sky, the wind was light and blowing out to sea, the water glassy, the waves rolling gently by, the sky a bright blue, and the clouds a wispy white.  Perfect.  I opened the bag, reached in to feel the soft grey ashes, grabbed a handful and tossed them into the air.  The heavier pieces came down near me like a soft summer rain and the fine ash was carried by the breeze away from me and I could watch it slowly disperse in the sunlight. And I did it again, reaching in to grab another scoop and then another until there was just one scoop left.  Each was like the first, a gentle rain and a wispy cloud. Now, I could see all around me some of the ashes floating in the water.  Dad surrounding me.  I gave the last scoop a kiss and let it go.  Looking down, some of the ashes had settled on my board and were sticking to the wax, Dad wanted to come with me on my first ride of the morning.  I tucked the empty plastic bag under my suit, lay down on my board, and looked for that perfect wave.