Janet Iwasa is an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah and director of the Genetic Science Learning Center. Iwasa will present “Visualizing the tiny worlds inside our cells,” at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 27 in 211 Hubbard Hall. An exhibition of her work illustrating molecular and cellular visualizations, “Tiny worlds,” will show March 21-31 in the Clayton Staples Gallery, McKnight Art Center.
Iwasa is the head of the Animation Lab at Utah, and her broad goal is to create accurate and compelling molecular and cellular visualizations that support research, learning and scientific communication. Her award-winning illustrations and animations have appeared in scientific journals including Nature, and Science and Cell, as well as in the New York Times. Her work has also been featured on television and in museum exhibits. As a postdoctoral fellow, she created a multimedia exhibit with Nobel Laureate Jack Szostak of Harvard University and the Museum of Science, Boston, and later worked on biological visualizations as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School. She received her doctorate from the University of California, San Francisco for her work on the actin cytoskeleton in the laboratory of Dyche Mullins, and completed 3D animation training at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects.
Fairmount College, the School of Digital Arts, and the School of Art, Design and Creative Industries are co-sponsoring her visit. The Watkins Visiting Professorship was created in 1974 by the Watkins Foundation. The grant is now provided through the Watkins fund, a part of the Wichita State University Foundation’s endowment.
