mSU SCICOMM
Michigan State University's
Science Communication Organization
Alyssa Kim
What was the inspiration behind your artwork?
When I saw the title of MSU Sci Art Exhibition this year, “Catalyst: A science Art Exhibition”, I thought it will be great to show people how the actual soil catalyst looks like.
My work shows the soil extracellular enzyme (specifically, beta-glucosidase) distributed in the soil matrix. Just as soil catalyst helps plants and microbes gain the nutrient resources, I hope this exhibition and my work will be a catalyst for people to get a fresh perspective on science.
What do you see as the similarity between science and art? Why is science-art important in today's society?
Science and art are similar in that they can be more meaningful and valuable when shared with the community. Sharing the result of the scientific activity helps the community understand more about the natural phenomenon, and further solve difficult problems. My field, for example, contributes to building knowledge related to climate change and resource sustainability. In the same way, sharing artworks benefits people by inspiring and healing them.
I believe sharing science and art (or science-art!) is more important in today’s society, where online experience is being settled as new-normal because our community will be stay connected through it.
Get to know the artist!
Alyssa Kim is a Ph.D. Candidate in Crop and Soil Science in the Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences. She is interested in understanding plant-soil-microbiome interactions in microscale to explain soil biogeochemical processes. She uses visual techniques for her research goals, such as X-ray microtomography and Zymography. She also has an interest in the extension activity of re-interpreting scientific data to artworks as a tool to communicate with the general public.
Get in touch!
Like the Kravchenko Lab on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KravchenkoMSU and visit Alyssa's website https://kyungmin-kim-soil.netlify.app/ to see more of her academic and extension works.
