January 11, 2007
From science into art: More than a few steps
Editor’s Note: Uniquely Washington is a biweekly column featuring one of the University’s most important resources — our people.
Mark Stoermer is an ocean engineer. Hunter Hadaway is an artist. Together the two lead a small group of staffers whose job is to turn scientific data into pictures. The Center for Environmental Visualization creates everything from posters to brochures to Web sites, all in the service of communicating information about the ocean.
It all started in the late 90s, when both men were working for the College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences. They became involved in a project there called the Puget Sound Regional Synthesis Model (PRISM), which integrates several numeric models dealing with Puget Sound. Stoermer’s knowledge of ocean science and Hadaway’s artistic ability combined to produce stunning images of the data. Soon after, another large undertaking — the NEPTUNE Project — came along, and the center was created.
Since then, Stoermer and Hadaway have been joined by Technical Director Bruce Campbell, Web Services Manager Shawn Thomas, Data Systems Programmer Donald Averill and Graphic Engines Programmer Dave Collins. The group is mainly grant funded, but is also supported by the college.
The road to a finished image usually starts with a scientist in need, Stoermer said. The scientist may come to the group with scientific data or just with an idea. He or she may want to use the finished product for a class or a convention presentation or a grant application. The scientist explains what is wanted and may provide anything from graphs that represent the outcome of experiments to diagrams of equipment for experiments yet to be set up.
After that, Stoermer and Hadaway begin their work, doodling on the board or on paper and discussing what they might do. For example, the group might be called upon to create an image of the sea floor in a particular area with a sensor network that is to be installed. Stoermer would take the data about the area and render the basic image, then hand it off to Hadaway, who would use a 3-D modeling package to create models of the network that he can manipulate from any perspective. The network is added to the basic image using Photoshop.
“A lot of times we’re taking artistic license, but usually it’s artistic license in conjunction with what we think the scientist wants to illustrate,” Stoermer said.
Much of the time, Stoermer and Hadaway struggle to keep the images “readable” despite the necessity of including a huge amount of data. Hadaway has pushed the limits of Photoshop, using hundreds of layers in creating a single image. Once, on the eve of a deadline, he added one too many layers and the system crashed, blocking him from opening the image. Many moments of panic ensued before he was able to open it in another program.
Despite the painstaking work involved, Stoermer and Hadaway find their jobs satisfying.
“Coming from an ocean background, I really am interested in ocean education,” Stoermer said. “I enjoy the integration of the technology, the science and the art.”
Hadaway said he really believes in the old saw about a picture being worth a thousand words, and he likes using his artistic skills to get ideas across. “I’m not a scientist, so if I can understand something and get it onto an image that makes sense to me, then I know others will get it.”
See examples of the CEV’s work at http://www.cev.washington.edu/
