The Art of a Scientist and Other Stories

Howdy! I've steadily found myself busier and busier, but at least I love what I do. I'm settling in well to my work routine-- I get up early, do a quick workout, and make it to summer camp around 8:15. I'm really enjoying the camps I've done so far, which have involved working with preschoolers, kindergarteners, and 1st and 2nd graders. Two weeks ago I guided my campers through developing some enrichment for the Museum's black bears and last week I spent all day making Lego robots with my kids. This week I'm with 3rd through 5th grade doing "Grossology", which is all about decomposition and stuff; today I had the pleasure of dissecting an owl pellet!

After Job #1 is done, I spend a few hours every day on my writing. One of my favorite parts about science writing is that I get to spend a lot of time reading scientific papers and interviewing researchers about their work-- it's so much fun to hear how excited they are to share! I also love the sheer breadth of topics I'm able to cover; I can move from quantum computing to dead fish from one week to the next. I've always loved learning about new things, so it's a fantastic way to do that (and earn some extra cash).

Matthew and I also find ways to entertain ourselves outside of work. Last weekend we made a stop at the Pork, Pickles & Peanuts festival at the Duke Homestead in Durham. The festival itself was pretty small (although we did get to judge some delicious BBQ for the competition) but I really enjoyed visiting the homestead. This is the original tobacco farm run by Washington Duke and his descendants in the 1800s, where the legend of the Dukes began. It reminded me a lot of the Agrirama with its old, rural buildings and interpreters wandering around in checkered shirts and dresses. As with many Southern homes of the time, the kitchen was set apart from the rest of the house; there were a couple interpreters inside trying to make doughnuts and I didn't envy them one bit-- it was sweltering! The house itself was quite interesting, because the Dukes were clearly at least reasonably comfortable financially. It still had the rough-hewn log construction (no Tift House, thank you), but there was glass in the windows and lots of space for the time period. We also checked out the tobacco drying facilities-- a cool shed with rows and rows of beams stretched across it-- and a couple of the tobacco plants growing out back.

We also spent a good bit of time in the attached museum, which made us both just a little uncomfortable. I certainly learned a lot about the tobacco industry and the Duke family, but I think the part I learned most about was the reverence and nostalgia attached to the industry in these parts (at least by some). The exhibits bragged about how jobs in the tobacco processing factories at the turn of the century were the best around; they apparently were easy and paid incredibly well. No mention of the horrific conditions of factories in general at that time or the side effects of working with tobacco. Vintage advertisements were displayed proudly, with a touch of regret that they are no longer permitted. There was even a photo series featuring the plight of modern tobacco farmers as they face declining demand and increasing costs. One comment that stuck with me was a farmer complaining that "back in the day" teenagers would spend their summers working the tobacco field. "Now," he complained, "they just go to fast food because it's easier and pays better." After talking with my dad about his experience growing up with those tobacco-working teenagers, I think that's the understatement of the century (and let's not pretend anyone thinks that fast food is a dream job). Finally, the exhibit ended with a display of some of the wonderful projects that have been funded by tobacco money-- hospitals, orphanages, chapels. Of course that's true, and of course plenty of good came from the tobacco industry. But at the same time, I found it disturbing that in all of the rooms, all of the displays, all of the glorification, there was not one word about the deaths, injuries, and suffering that is likewise linked to the industry. I certainly left with a lot of thoughts.

  Because I clearly don't have enough to do, I've started doing some unpaid intern tasks for a local organization called Science Communicators of North Carolina, or SCONC (yes, pronounced skunk). It's a great network of academics, educators, museum professionals, writers, and others who share an interest in science and communicating with the public. I mention this because on Friday I helped out at an event highlighting a new art exhibit called The Art of a Scientist. This exhibit was put together by some Duke grad students who paired up artists with scientists; the scientists were tasked with explaining their work to the artists and the artists were tasked with interpreting it artistically. Matthew and I both loved it!

One of the students who put this together, Ariana Eily, took all of the attendees on a walkthrough of the exhibit.

One of the scientists explains his work in Gabon.

This artwork is based off of research on mussels.

It's intricately hand-cut paper!

This artist used a frame that the scientists he's paired with captured plankton with.

I absolutely loved this one. It's a Fourier transform of a cardiogram, but it's also just so beautiful.

This is based off of research that studies the effects of different lighting conditions on racial profiling (i.e. are police more likely to pull an African American over without cause when it's dark out?)

This is a study on how sea urchins "see" without eyes.

So yeah, things are going swell!