Q&A
Q&A with OSHEANCon19
Keynote Speaker:
Kimberly Kowal Arcand
OSHEANCon19 keynote speaker Kimberly Kowal
Arcand is an award-winning scientist and storyteller,
combining her strong science background with her
gift for communicating complex ideas in clear,
accessible ways for novices and experts alike. As
the Visualization Lead for NASA’s Chandra X-ray
Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Arcand
uses data to tell stories about science, whether in
the form of a 3D print of an exploded star, a book
about light, or a virtual reality application in high-
energy astrophysics. OSHEAN had the opportunity
to talk to Arcand about her background in molecular
biology and public health and her journey to
becoming one of the world’s leading experts in
astronomy visualization.
and to my five-year-old eyes, it was the coolest strong zoology/biology program. I’m happy
thing ever. The illustrations in it were so I decided on URI, because it was the perfect
fascinating and exotic, and I remember thinking size for me, and offered a great deal of
that was what I wanted to do with my life, to academic flexibility within the biology program.
look at books like these and learn exactly how The school appreciated and accommodated
things work. learners like me, who like to explore and learn
things outside their majors. I was in the
In addition to trying to learn as much about biology program, but took classes in physics
medicine as I could from my mother’s books, and other STEM courses so I could broaden
I became obsessed with stars, and dreamed of my understanding of how biology fits in a
becoming an astronaut. My parents were wider scientific context. I also took classes in
aware of my interest in science and encouraged literature and writing towards an English minor.
even my most farfetched dreams. They were I think, particularly in science, people assume
incredibly supportive of me and allowed me that you need to be focused on one very small,
to thrive as I went down different avenues of specific thing, but I never found that with my
exploration. own trajectory. URI was particularly nurturing
of students like me, who weren’t necessarily
You’ve had a lifelong fascination with stars. laser-focused with tunnel-vision on one
What attracted you to them? subject.
I grew up in in Scituate, where there wasn’t
as much light pollution, so the night sky was
pretty good to see, and I spent a lot of time
20
|
2019 eCURRENT
at NASA?
looking at it. I was a bit of a dreamer as a child, While an undergrad, I changed my mind
and the stars were really well suited to my multiple times about what I wanted to do
personality because they offered endless (even now, I’m not sure what I want to do when
possibilities and endless stories. I even had a I grow up). I’m constantly learning and finding
little stellarium (a three-dimensional map of new things I want to try, and that has been the
the stars) in my bedroom, so I could stare at it biggest defining factor in my career path. When
at night and learn about the constellations. I was at URI, I had a job working for a professor
of economics who was interesting and smart
Were you always interested in science?
When I was young, my mother decided to go to school, and
How did a degree in biology lead to a career
What did you study in college?
she enrolled in classes at the Community College of Rhode I knew that I wanted to study some sort of
Island to become certified as a nurse’s aide. One of my ear- research-based science related to health and
lier memories was sitting under the dining room table as my medicine. I applied and was accepted to a
mother did her homework at night, and poring over her anat- number of schools, and ultimately chose URI
omy book. It was huge – it must have weighed 20 pounds – because it was affordable and it had a really
and welcomed people with different ideas and
different backgrounds. He had me doing a lot
of computer work, including building a website
– and this was back in the 90s, when it was all
brand new! I had to learn how to code in HTML,
and it turned out to be the most fun thing I
Stronger Together
|
21