By Tom Moore

Close your eyes and picture, if you will, something scientific. Perhaps your mind conjures up an image of space exploration, or a melting glacier affected by climate change, or the eyes of a mosquito enlarged by an electron microscope. Whatever you imagined, it was almost certainly influenced by the field of photography, which since its invention in the early 1800s has cast its eye on the world around us, allowing us to see, share, and interpret our surroundings in new ways.

The intersection of photography and science has long intrigued UMBC visiting senior research scholar Marvin Heiferman. “I’ve been fascinated by science photography for years—pictures of microbes too small to be detected by the human eye, of stars or galaxies too distant to be directly experienced, and of processes that unfold too quickly or slowly to be easily perceived,” he says.

In 2016, Heiferman organized a multi-year project, Seeing Science, funded by the Office of Research and the Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture. He engaged faculty, students, and alumni from across the disciplines (joined by other eminent scholars around the country) to explore how we see science via a series of public and online events, film screenings, an exhibition, and a website designed to spark interdisciplinary dialogue.

Now, Heiferman’s work has culminated in the publication of a book, Seeing Science: How Photography Reveals the Universe, released this spring as a partnership between UMBC and Aperture, a non-profit foundation and publisher dedicated to the advancement of photography. Replete with images from the dawn of photography through the present day, the handsome volume features dozens of essays—on subjects ranging from facial recognition to the discovery of x-rays to science fiction and more—and, of course, hundreds of photographs.

Retired astronaut Scott Kelly, who attended UMBC in the 1980s, provided the book’s foreword, in which he describes his year on the International Space Station, taking photographs of the cosmos, of Earth’s geography, of snowstorms, and of cities illuminated at night.

Two UMBC faculty contributed essays to Seeing Science: Mark Alice Durant, professor of visual arts, writes about “The Wonder of Evidence,” tracing a dance between knowledge and wonder, documentation and astonishment, and fact and fiction; and Joseph Tatarewicz, associate professor of history and director of the human context of science and technology program, penned “Science Fiction and Moving Images,” examining film from the time of Georges Méliès’ famous Le voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon, 1902) to Walt Disney’s Man in Space (1955).

Rebecca Adelman, associate professor of media and communication studies, participated in several online discussions, and her perspectives on images are found throughout the book. Heiferman also explores the photography of Lynn Cazabon, professor of visual arts, and Melissa Penley Cormier, M.F.A. ’17, visual arts, program specialist in visual arts.

“Specialized images have become so ingrained in our everyday lives that we forget how profoundly they’re helping us understand the world around us,” shares Heiferman. “An MRI on an injured knee, a sonogram displayed on a refrigerator door, the facial recognition technology that lets you unlock your smartphone: they’re all are routine examples of the ways we use science photography as an everyday tool.”

*****

Header image: Studio process of Fret & Focus project, a year of documenting worries using microscopic slides, 2016. Art by Melissa Penley Cormier.

July 26, 2019 marks the 29th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act that was signed into law in 1990.  The ADA and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) give civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. The ADA and ADAAA also assure equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities for access to businesses, employment, transportation, state and local government programs and services, and telecommunications.

Nearly 57 million people in our country have a disability and nearly 25% of today’s 20 year olds will experience disability in their lifetime. Since 1991, the 10 regional ADA Centers have been established as a support to creating more inclusive and accessible environments by providing  accurate information, resources and training on the ADA to businesses, employers, state and local governments, people with disabilities and their families, advocates, and veterans across the United States.

Similarly, UMBC's Office of Accessibility and Disability Services provides technical support and accommodation processes as a support to equal opportunity for the entire UMBC community - beyond Student Disability Services, working in partnership with all campus departments and divisions, including Human Resources, Facilities Management and DoIT.  Through the application of the law and related guidance throughout UMBC, people with disabilities have better access to buildings, classrooms, employment, programs and services, and increasing opportunities for equal and full participation in campus and community life.  Equal access and equal opportunity benefit the whole community.

If you are looking for a way to honor this occasion at UMBC, sign up to attend Instructional Technology's Blackboard Ultra Ally Orientation on August 23rd at noon from the very accessible location of your own computer!  Details are here: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology/events/71615  We are thankful that Instructional Technology is a champion of ADA by orienting faculty in the provision of accessible course content.

If you are looking for ways to celebrate the ADA in your daily life, or through social media, click on the link below for ideas and inspiration.

Happy Anniversary ADA!

Bach in Baltimore warmly seeks experienced singers in all voice parts to perform with us in our 2019-2020 Season! The Bach in Baltimore Choir is a friendly group of talented singers who enjoy singing great choral music together.

For our 2019-202 Season, Bach in Baltimore will be performing some of the GREATEST Chorale Masterpieces ever composed, including:

Bach’s B Minor Mass
Handel’s Messiah
Haydn’s Heiligemesse

And, Bach in Baltimore will continue to be the only ensemble in central Maryland presenting Bach’s cantatas with great regularity.

Organization Description: