Valuable Opportunities for Research Programs
This informal seminar series provides SSOE faculty with useful information or resources to improve implementation, management, funding or translation of their research programs. Topics will cover a wide variety of areas under this general theme, and suggestions for new topics are more than welcome (and should be sent to the Associate Dean for Research's office at ehv3@pitt.edu).
All lectures will be in Benedum 102 from 12:00 - 1:00 pm. Registration is required for lunch.
**Please check back often for new details about upcoming sessions!
Cancellations and Special Requests
If you would like to cancel an existing registration or if you have any special dietary needs, please notify Emily H. VonderPorten at ehv3@pitt.edu.
Upcoming Events
Democratizing Scientific Illustration
Monday, November 4th at 12pm in 102 BEH
We are pleased to share that our next SSOE Valuable Opportunities for Research Programs Lunch & Learn session will be on Monday, November 4th at 12pm in 102 BEH, hosted by ChemE Prof. Chris Wilmer. The presentation is titled ‘Democratizing Scientific Illustration,’ and features guest speaker Ryo Mizuta, Freelance Scientific Illustrator and Senior Teaching Associate in the Department of Physics, University of Cambridge. Please see below for details.
If you would like to attend the session and receive a lunch, please contact Rose Gerber (rog128@pitt.edu) or Emily Huffman VonderPorten (ehv3@pitt.edu) directly. Please let them know of any dietary restrictions. Please rsvp no later than Monday, October 28th in order to have a lunch provided.
Abstract: High-quality scientific illustrations are increasingly required at many stages of the academic “pipeline,” from academic dissemination (publications, presentations) to funding applications and public engagement. Nonetheless, the lack of accessible tools and formalised illustration training in the physical sciences leave many researchers severely underprepared to meet this demand. With the advent of free and open-source illustration software such as Blender, there is an emerging opportunity to democratize scientific illustrations for the general academic community, a skill traditionally limited to professional “scientific illustrators.” In this talk, Ryo will share insights from his experience as both an academic and illustrator to highlight some recent developments around scientific illustration using Blender, that demonstrate progress towards this vision. He will also discuss some potential avenues for Blender to contribute more broadly to academic learning and research, beyond its capabilities as simply an illustration tool.
Bio
Ryo Mizuta is a Senior Teaching Associate in the Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, overseeing curriculum development for the Doctoral Training Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. He is concurrently an affiliated lecturer for the MPhil in Micro and Nanotechnology Enterprise (Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy), as well as a Bye-Fellow and Director of Studies for the undergraduate Natural Sciences (Physics) tripos at Lucy Cavendish College (University of Cambridge).
Prior to this, he completed his PhD and postdoctoral work in the Department of Engineering (University of Cambridge). His PhD focused on a novel environmental scanning electron microscopy technique for in-operando metrology of 1D and 2D nanomaterial growth and processing, supervised by Prof. Stephan Hofmann. He subsequently undertook postdoctoral work focused on technology commercialisation, firstly on wearable biosensor technologies (under Prof. George Malliaras) and subsequently on the manufacturing of microparticles for pharmaceutical applications (under Prof. Michael de Volder).
Outside of academia, Ryo works as a freelance scientific illustrator, creating 3D illustrations for publications, journal covers and technical animations for both academics and startups. He is also actively involved in teaching 3D illustration through workshops within universities, as well as more widely via his YouTube channel (Ryo Mizuta Graphics).