OSHEAN eCurrent Fall 2019 | Page 20

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