Discovering Art in Science

Discovering Art in Science

How our data curators are celebrating the beauty that can emerge during scientific exploration at UC San Diego

Data curators at the UC San Diego Library have the privilege of working with researchers from a wide range of scientific disciplines as they prepare data for the Library’s research data collections repository. The visually stunning nature of some of the research data sets they curate inspired the Library’s Research Data Curation program to host its inaugural Art of Science contest.

The contest was created for two reasons: to celebrate the beauty that can emerge during scientific exploration and to raise awareness of the Library’s data curation services.

In February 2021, UC San Diego and affiliate students, postdoctoral and faculty researchers were invited to submit images or graphics related to their research, along with a caption that explained their work in an engaging and accessible way. Many of the contest participants used imaging techniques to capture beauty that normally goes unseen by the human eye, which as contest award winner Keunyoung Kim says, “can be so intricately and artistically organized.”

Researcher-artists were allowed to modify images in order to enhance overall aesthetics, and images could be obtained by a variety of techniques. For example, submissions could be the result of modeling and simulation or created by combining multiple images into one. Photographs depicting instrumentation, apparatus, devices or other objects used during scientific investigation were also accepted.

Four award-winning images were selected by a panel of judges from a range of academic disciplines and campus roles. Three additional images were awarded honorable mention and a separate prize was awarded to the overall crowd favorite, which was identified during the open voting period.

The Research Data Curation program acknowledges the generous support of Wendy Ibsen and Arica Lubin for sharing their insights about producing the UC Santa Barbara Art of Science contest; Brian Wolf for giving a deep dive into the UC Santa Barbara Art of Science website development tools; student graphic designer Erinna Lin for creating the Art of Science mark; and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies for their partnership.

We hope you enjoy a glimpse into our participants’ worlds of research.

View the online exhibit lib.ucsd.edu/aosexhibit

Judges’ Award, Faculty/Scientist Participant Category: Mouse Retinal Ganglion Cells

By Keunyoung Kim, scientist associated with the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research at UC San Diego. Retinal ganglion cells in the whole mounted mouse retina.

Judges’ Award, Undergraduate Participant Category: Hyphi

By Nika Redburn and Will Tanaka, undergraduate students associated with the Department of NanoEngineering and the Department of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego, respectively, and Roger’s Urban Farmlab. Vigorous edible mushroom culture surrounded by photos of different types of mushrooms grown using waste such as coffee grounds and tea leaves.

Open Voting Winner: Bigeye Octopus Suckers

By Adi Khen, graduate student associated with the Marine Biology Research Division at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Smith Lab. Close-up of the suckers of a North Pacific Bigeye octopus, collected from a deep-sea trawl on a research vessel.

Judges’ Award, Postdoctoral Participant Category: A Deceitful Handshake

By Lorenzo Casalino, postdoctoral researcher associated with the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UC San Diego and the Amaro Lab. Ever wonder how SARS-CoV-2 latches onto human cells? Computer simulations capture the atomic-level details of this deadly encounter leading to infection.

Judges’ Award, Graduate Student Participant Category [ above ] Drifting World through the Scripps Plankton Camera

By Pichaya Lertvilai, graduate student associated with Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Jaffe Laboratory of Underwater Imaging. A collage of tiny ocean drifters imaged by the Scripps plankton camera shows the hidden beauty of the underwater world that is unseen to naked eye.

Honorable Mention: Workhorse of Genetics

By Thomas Deerinck, faculty member associated with the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research at UC San Diego. Long considered the linchpin of genomics research since they are easy to manipulate, inexpensive to maintain, have short generation times and share many genes involved in human diseases, Drosophila melanogaster have led to countless discoveries in biomedicine.

Honorable Mention: Whirlwind of Neurites Extending from Fluorescent Neurons in Cultured Explants of Embryonic Mouse Brain Tissue

By Jess Du, graduate student associated with the Department of Neurosciences at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and the Lippi Lab. Embryonic mouse neurons labeled with green fluorescent protein, with profusions of neurites extending outwards in swirls.

Honorable Mention: Red, White & Blue

By Partha Ray, faculty member, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Moores Cancer Center at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. Trichrome staining was performed on a formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded mouse pancreatic cancer tumor slide.