4 artists and 2 NCCR SPIN scientists illustrate clichés in scientific research!
NCCR SPIN and the Lausanne comic festival BDFIL partnered to organize an illustrated discussion on clichés in scientific research! The event took place in the beautiful Aula of the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne on the 23rd September 2023, during Museum Night.
The principle was the following: Oriane Masseray, Lionel Codak, Carine and Azriel Malacalico from the association Splotch! were asked a few questions on scientific research. In about 5 to 8 minutes, our four artists answered those questions with a live illustration while scientists Anna Fontcuberta i Morral (EPFL) and Pierre Fromholz (University of Basel) were discussing the same questions in front and with the public. The event was moderated by Marie Le Dantec, NCCR SPIN communication and outreach officer.
The ball opened with asking artists Carine and Azriel Malacalico to “draw a scientist”. Leaning on their drawings, Anna Fontcuberta i Morral and Pierre Fromholz started the discussion by deconstructing the myth of the old man in his white coat, alone in his laboratory. The illustrated conversation went through many different topics such as imagining an experiment in a physics lab, what future computers can do, the scientific discovery that they would like to see in the future, and what they would do if they measured 1 nm… Anna Fontcuberta i Morral, experimentalist, and Pierre Fromholz, theorist, could joyfully share their experience with the public from the point of view of two different families of scientists who work nonetheless hand in hand.
All and all, this illustrated discussion was successful and fun, with interesting conversations and questions from the public, animated by talented artists. NCCR SPIN is looking forward to bringing more of science and art together in future public events!
Drawing the invisible: comic book author meets physicists to talk about the representation of quantum physics in comics
The Swiss comic book festival BDFIL’s 17th edition took place in Lausanne between the 1st and the 14th May 2023. As the festival’s theme of this year is science in comics, NCCR SPIN collaborated with them to organize a public discussion between Laurent Schafer, author of comic books Quantix and Infinix (ed. Dunod) and NCCR SPIN scientists Prof. Anna Fontcuberta I Morral (EPFL) and Pierre Chevalier Kwon (University of Basel). The discussion was moderated by Marie Le Dantec.
First, the author and the two scientists introduced themselves in images, including what they do, what characters they identify with and what scientific discovery they would have liked to make. After our three protagonists debated on the place of comic books in scientific outreach and how science is displayed in the media, Laurent Schafer guided the public through the development of his stories and metaphors designed to ease the explanation of quantum principles to a larger audience. Taking several examples in his books, he told the public how he dealt with diverging scientific opinions and debated with our scientists about the representation of scientists in comic books. Our physicists briefly introduced quantum computers to the public, following the explanation in images of two quantum principles on which quantum computer are based: superposition and entanglement. In the end, Laurent Schafer gave the public a teaser of his next publication.
NCCR SPIN would like to warmly thank Laurent Schafer, Prof. Anna Fontcuberta i Morral and Pierre Chevalier Kwon for thoselively and very interesting exchanges, as well as all the team at the BDFIL Festival, especially director Gaëlle Kovaliv, for making this event possible!
