About the Artist

Engagement with visual representation has been crucial aspect of my professional career. My advanced degrees are in the field of engineering and I have used visual arts throughout my mechanics and materials research, my college-level teaching, and my work to engage public audiences with scientific topics. I believe the arts are the creative heart of design and innovation. In my research, my training as an artist has been essential to understanding and interpreting the images obtained from a variety of microscopy instrumentation. In my teaching, I use visual representations of engineering elements and concepts. They are integrated throughout the courses that I teach at the undergraduate and graduate levels to provide learners with additional ways of interacting with complex concepts. I have also explored ways in which art can be employed as an entry point for those who might not be as intrinsically interested in science. This has included several collaborations with professional artists and science museum exhibit designers, as well as numerous publications and presentations at the national and international levels. These collaborations have included visualizing nanoscale structures using large-scale balloon constructs and using silver and gold nanoparticles suspended in polymers for making “stained glass” artwork with the public.

In my personal work in the visual arts, my focus has primarily been pastel painting with some work in watercolor. I find natural objects very engaging. There is so much to see when the sun shines on a piece of fruit or washes across a field. For me, the shadows are as important as the light, by providing both contrast and the mystery of what is hidden. Painting has allowed me to explore these everyday objects and portray their energy and vitality. The experience of attaining flow while immersed in artistic expression is hard to surpass. It connects to a focus that allows a thorough engagement with the creative process.