Women Scientist Portraits on Scientific American.com

Inge Lehmann and the Earth's Inner Core linocut on Japanese kozo paper, 2011, 20.5 cm x 20.5 cm

Just in time for International Women's Day, Scientific American has published Maia Weinstock's photo essay about female scientists portrayed in art: 15 Works of Art Depicting Women in Science; Visualizing notable women in the STEM fields through the lens of fine art. There are some really wonderful portraits of great scientists. She writes about each artist and their inspiration. I'm flattered to be included, along with my portrait of the great Danish pioneer of whole Earth seismology, Inge Lehmann. Lehmann is an apt selection; not only did she make the revolutionary discovery of the Earth's inner core (and find the evidence in what others had mistaken for noise), but she wasn't shy about frankly discussing how women's contributions to science were all too often overlooked.

I love also how she points out that the idea that science and art are divorced is only recent, and the contemporary move to go from STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) back to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math). If you read carefully, you'll also glean the inspiration for my most recent portraits of female scientists: Maia will be curating a women-in-STEM art exhibit at the Art.Science.Gallery. in Austin, Texas, from September 13 through October 15, 2014, which will include some of the works and artists from her article, like me!