Excite. Educate. Empower.
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Alice Chen Kitterman
Degrees: M.Sc. BMC 1997, University of Toronto.
B.S. Chemistry (Completed requirements to earn a B.A. in Studio Arts) 1993, The College of William and Mary. Memberships: Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) aychen_702@yahoo.com |
Hi! I'm Alice, Scientific Illustrator contracted to the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs (OLPA) at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).
Ever since I can remember, I was always drawing, or making things out of construction paper, empty jars, egg cartons, and whatever I could swipe from my dad's desk. Growing up in a family of scientists, my interest in science was strong, but my love for creating and storytelling was greater. And though I never saw myself as a researcher, I ended up in a lab after graduating college, where the people with whom I worked changed the course of my life.
Ever since I can remember, I was always drawing, or making things out of construction paper, empty jars, egg cartons, and whatever I could swipe from my dad's desk. Growing up in a family of scientists, my interest in science was strong, but my love for creating and storytelling was greater. And though I never saw myself as a researcher, I ended up in a lab after graduating college, where the people with whom I worked changed the course of my life.
In my current scientific illustrator role at the U.S. National Science Foundation, I create a wide variety of illustrations that include conceptual and promotional art. To follow are a few of my latest examples.
May the 4th be with us.
Hero illustration demonstrates the link between a little known NSF-funded study that led to the special effects created for the original Star Wars movies. Read about it here: https://new.nsf.gov/science-matters/1970s-psychology-experiment-behind-star-wars
Exoplanet's possible magnetic field discovered through radio wave detection.
This illustration depicts how a magnetic field produced by a planet subsequently protects the planet's atmosphere from stellar gases, and thus enables life to exist. Research published in Nature Astronomy on April 3, 2023, revealed a consistent, periodic radio wave signal originating from the red dwarf YZ Ceti. This radio wave was emanating from an aurora on the surface of YZ Ceti, as a result of interaction between its atmosphere and the stellar gas that was deflected by what is hypothesized to be a magnetic field generated by a nearby exoplanet, YZ Ceti b. Although in itself not a candidate for sustaining life due to its proximity to its star, the interaction between a magnetic field and stellar gases can explain how the surface of a planet is protected from harmful stellar gases.
This was published in a EurekAlerrt on April 3, 2023, and picked up by numerous news channels, including CNN (https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/04/world/exoplanet-radio-signal-scn/index.html).
It is also published as an NSF Science Matters article: https://beta.nsf.gov/science-matters.beta.nsf.gov/science-matters
This was published in a EurekAlerrt on April 3, 2023, and picked up by numerous news channels, including CNN (https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/04/world/exoplanet-radio-signal-scn/index.html).
It is also published as an NSF Science Matters article: https://beta.nsf.gov/science-matters.beta.nsf.gov/science-matters
To show the progression of the illustration, here is the first sketch to the authors. My chosen point-of-view allows for all major elements to be easily visible in relation to one another. Upon review, adjustments were then made: location of aurora; orientation of the proposed magnetic field generated by the exoplanet; magnetic field orientation to indicate a left-to-right orbit.
Conceptual illustration to promote NSF-supported events such as this one in an upcoming panel discussion at SXSW on March 14, 2023. If you're headed to Austin, check it out! https://schedule.sxsw.com/2023/events/PP128351
Design and layout by Lily Le/NSF; Illustration by Alice Kitterman/NSF.
Design and layout by Lily Le/NSF; Illustration by Alice Kitterman/NSF.
Prior to working for NSF, I was a Scientific Illustrator for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), cranking out 2D and 3D artwork for the flagship print journal Science and the online journals Translational Medicine, Signaling, Immunology, and Robotics.
In December 2021, I wrote an editorial for Science Robotics, which has recently been made free (forever!) to access:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.abn1724
I wrote several blogs detailing my trials and tribulations in creating effective scientific communications:
Reexamining "re" in the creative process:
https://blogs.sciencemag.org/vis/2021/02/05/reexamining-re-in-the-creative-process/
And...action! Animating illustrations for Instagram:
https://blogs.sciencemag.org/vis/2020/07/17/and-action-animating-illustrations-for-instagram/
To 3D or not to 3D:
https://blogs.sciencemag.org/vis/2019/11/25/to-3d-or-not-to-3d/
In December 2021, I wrote an editorial for Science Robotics, which has recently been made free (forever!) to access:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.abn1724
I wrote several blogs detailing my trials and tribulations in creating effective scientific communications:
Reexamining "re" in the creative process:
https://blogs.sciencemag.org/vis/2021/02/05/reexamining-re-in-the-creative-process/
And...action! Animating illustrations for Instagram:
https://blogs.sciencemag.org/vis/2020/07/17/and-action-animating-illustrations-for-instagram/
To 3D or not to 3D:
https://blogs.sciencemag.org/vis/2019/11/25/to-3d-or-not-to-3d/
And in 2021, I was invited to "virtually speak" at several conferences listed below, on the processes I've developed to create graphic abstracts hastily, that would still effectively communicate the science:
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