“Beyond Curie” exhibition opens at N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, March 24
For immediate release ‐ March 08, 2018
Contact: Jon Pishney, 919.707.8083. Images available upon request
(RALEIGH, N.C.) — We all know Marie Curie. Born Maria Sklodowska, she was a Polish/French scientist who did pioneering research on radioactivity. The first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person ever to win it twice, and the only person to win it in two different sciences. She was a legend, and one of the greatest scientists to have ever lived. And yet, too often, Marie Curie is where the conversation begins and ends when it comes to women in science. The truth is, there are numerous women scientists, mathematicians and engineers who have made incredible advances in their fields, and never earned the recognition they deserve.
“Beyond Curie: A Celebration of Women in Science” — a new, free exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences opening March 24 — is a celebration of 40 of these women, including all 16 female winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine/Physiology.
“Despite all the progress that has been made, science, math and engineering are still too often biased against women,” says artist/designer and neuroscientist Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya. “Each one of the women featured in ‘Beyond Curie’ has surmounted incredible odds and faced down countless challenges for decades in the pursuit of knowledge, understanding and impact. Their stories will take your breath away.”
Phingbodhipakkiya designed vibrant full-color illustrations that feature the female scientists’ portraits as well as images and design elements connected to their groundbreaking work. “Including the women’s faces was important to me,” she adds. “I wanted to show the human side of science.”
There’s more to this exhibition than what’s on the walls. The Museum’s Exhibitions and Digital Media team, collaborating with Phingbodhipakkiya and N.C. State University College of Sciences, enriched the exhibition by adding content about female scientists who work at the Museum, as well as an interactive iPad display, a 3D model, and a cutting-edge augmented reality app. By using this app, visitors will see beautiful 3D animations hidden inside some of the portraits.
Phingbodhipakkiya will be on hand to discuss her work on Saturday, March 24 at 2:30 p.m. in the Museum’s SECU Daily Planet Theater. Phingbodhipakkiya is an award-winning neuroscientist-turned-designer, TED mainstage speaker, professor and STEM advocate. Before becoming a multidisciplinary designer, she studied Alzheimer’s disease at Columbia Medical Center. Her work brings science and society closer together and has been recognized by Fast Company, Forbes and The New York Times. She won a 2016 TED Residency and this past year, her work garnered a WeWork Creator’s Award, and she was named one of NBC’s 26 Emerging Asian American Voices. Through writing, speaking and design, she is trying to help the world better appreciate the importance and wonder of science.
