Artist and illustrator Lucy Smith helps botanists to identify new species. Usually they request a set of drawings, she says, with a detailed set of requirements.
But Smith, who joined London’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, more than 20 years ago, says: “We also feed back to the scientists and say, 'I’ve seen what you’ve asked me to see. But do you know what, I’ve also seen this? Did you know that this flower has this structure.'”
In the second episode of this six-part Working Scientist podcast series about art and science, Smith is joined by other artists with experience of science collaborations. David Ibbett, resident composer at the Harvard and Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, says:
“By trying to synthesize these different perspectives on what the science means, we arrive at something new.”
Diana Scarborough, artist-in-residence in bionanotechnolost Ljiljana Fruk’s lab at the University of Cambridge, UK, says that the best collaborations are long term ones, requiring also curiosity and passion. “Looking at their research from a different angle opens up opportunities. If I can make a difference at that point, that will be superb.”
Each episode in this series concludes with a follow-up sponsored slot from the International Science Council (ISC). The ISC is seeking perspectives from science fiction authors on how science can meet societal challenges, ranging from climate change and food security to the disruption caused by artificial intelligence.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The career costs of COVID-19: how postdocs and PhD students are paying the price
Stop the postdoc treadmill … I want to get off
Why life as a postdoc is like a circling plane at LaGuardia Airport
How to craft and communicate a simple science story
How to sell your public outreach ideas to funders
How films and festivals can showcase your science
How to transition from the lab to full-time science communicator
Coronavirus conversations: Science communication during a pandemic
Science communication made simple
How the academic paper is evolving in the 21st century
How to get media coverage for your research
How to bounce back from a bruising peer-review or paper rejection
How to write a top-notch paper
How apartheid's legacy can still cast a shadow over doctoral education in South Africa
The PhD thesis and how to boost its impact
Team PhD
It's time to fix the "one size fits all" PhD
Too many PhDs, too few research positions
My courtroom battles to halt illegal peatland fires in Indonesia
Working Scientist: The award-winning neuroscientist who blazes a trail for open hardware
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Reaching your Goals
What It’s Like To Be...
The Ken Coleman Show
The Cardone Zone
How to Be Awesome at Your Job