On April 20, at 3:30pm, Scripps Oceanography student and artist Elizabeth Stringer and Scripps researchers Jules Jaffe, Peter Franks, and PhD candidate Christian Briseno, will each discuss their work on ocean science and the environmental knowledge they’ve gained from using state-of-the-art optical tools to observe the underwater world of plankton. The oxygen in every second breath you take was supplied by the ocean’s plankton; and zooplankton is the inspiration for a Library art installation by Elizabeth Stringer now on display through May. My Meditations End in Reverie, is a two-part exhibit, located in the Seuss Room Foyer within Geisel Library and the Biomedical Library Building breezeway.
A reception, in the Seuss Room Foyer, will follow the talks. This event is free and open to the public.
Questions? Contact Mariah Fellows at mfellows@ucsd.edu or by phone at 858-534-0533.
About the speakers presentations:
Scripps researcher Jules Jaffe will be discussing the power of observation in ocean science, outlining the progression and plans for an ever-expanding future of observation: “In my lab we have focused on the development of tools for observing the oceans. Among these, and based on the cognitive bandwidth of how humans process information, our underwater imaging systems have revealed a multi-scale world of inter-related biological and physical realities of which we only have an occasional glimpse. Our objectives are three-fold: Obtaining data for scientists, helping school children to appreciate the environment, and communicating the beauty of the underwater world at the very small scales that we observe.”
Scripps researcher Peter Franks will introduce attendees to the phytoplankton and smaller zooplankton, talking about what they do, how they interact with each other and their environment, and how the ocean hides an amazing world of unseen beauty. “The oxygen in every second breath you take was supplied by the ocean’s plankton. These creatures range in size from microns to meters. Their size and buoyancy have allowed them to evolve fantastic shapes, life cycles, and behaviors.”
PhD candidate, Christian Briseno’s focus will be on the submersible microscope cameras that have allowed him to ask, and answer questions only possible with these relatively new optical methods. “Just like Elizabeth Stringer’s fascination with the pictures of zooplankton, my love for these critters also entered through my eyes. It was when I first looked into a dissecting scope lens to see a plankton sample under them when I realized a window opened in front of me to peek into a world of organisms with the most bizarre, yet beautiful body shapes. So alien-looking, yet unequivocally earthbound due to the key ecological roles they play in aquatic systems, which in turn, affect our planet’s climate in ways not yet completely understood.”
Elizabeth Stringer’s art installation, My Meditations End in Reverie, is now on display through May. With an educational background as a double major in Human Biology and Art Studio Practice, Stringer has found herself within a world of growing rationalism in contemporary science and society. By allowing this mode of thinking to be the guide of passion, she investigates the poetic microcosm, a private world of self that is able to incorporate and convey the many facets of the world within a singular moment, which is more specifically contained within the informative lens of research.
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