“Inquiry II: The Art of Scientific Discovery” brings College of Sciences together with UNLV Galleries for an exhibit of images and objects related to UNLV research.
When/Where
The exhibit “Inquiry II: The Art of Scientific Discovery” runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 18 to Dec. 13, Monday through Friday, at the Jessie & Brian Metcalf Gallery on the second floor of the Richard Tam Alumni Center.
Reception
There will be a public reception to celebrate this exhibit from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 18 in the Jessie & Brian Metcalf Gallery.
About the Exhibit
There is tremendous beauty in the natural world, from witnessing the birth of the most distant galaxies, to seeing the smallest details of life on Earth, to examining the striking complexity generated by simple mathematical expressions. Often this beauty is overlooked because the technical nature of science requires that the communication of its results be done in the form of rigorous mathematical formulas, graphs that convey the results of complex data analysis, and language that has specific and narrow meaning. Yet, it is mankind’s observations of the natural world that inspire artists in their work, poets in their words, architects and musicians in their crafts, and scientists in their efforts to understand humanity’s place in the universe.
“Many science or math classes don’t give the opportunity for students to see just how cool this stuff really is,” said Jason Steffen, assistant professor in the department of physics and astronomy, who created the original exhibit in 2017 and reprised it this fall. “I wanted to have a forum where people could both learn how UNLV is expanding human knowledge through our research and see some of the amazing stuff that we scientists see as we work.”
A wide variety of cutting-edge research is being done at UNLV. The physics and astronomy department covers studies of the most energetic astronomical explosions, to the highest pressures and temperatures on Earth, to the discovery of planetary systems orbiting distant stars. In the School of Life sciences, researchers study life that proliferates in the most extreme of Earth’s environments, the smallest and most fragile of organisms, and the development of the enormous variety of plant and animal species on the Earth. In geoscience, the processes that drive our dynamic Earth are explored as well as the connections that exist between the Earth, its atmosphere, and the life it holds. Our chemists explore the properties and interactions of the building blocks of the universe, and our mathematicians examine the intricate details of symmetry, geometry, complexity, randomness, and infinity.
