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Graham Johnson’s 3D Animation Selected Finalist in NSF Competition

Research Associate Graham Johnson’s entry has been chosen a finalist in the 2011 National Science Foundation (NSF) International Scientific Visualization Challenge, an annual competition recognizing excellence in graphic illustration to communicate science, engineering, and technology for educational and media purposes.

Co-sponsored by the journal Science, the competition spotlights the necessity of illustration to promote public understanding of research developments. “In a world where science literacy is dismayingly rare, illustrations provide the most immediate and influential connection between scientists and other citizens, and the best hope for nurturing popular interest,” an NSF statement said.

Johnson’s entry, ‎"Rapid Visual Inventory & Comparison of Complex 3D Structures," demonstrates what he calls “a novel approach to derive simplified geometric representations from primary 3D datasets.” The representations allow expert and non-specialist viewers to rapidly compare cell and/or phenotypic parameters at a glance, providing a powerful tool for rapidly assessing and communicating key functional insights and quantitative differences in one object or between multiple objects, Johnson explained.



Graduate Program Symposium Winners Announced

Scripps Research graduate students from both the California and Florida campuses traveled to Lake Arrowhead for three days of networking, lectures, presentations, and relaxation earlier this month. Twenty-eight faculty and staff also participated in the retreat.

Winners at the retreat’s Graduate Student Symposium were:

  • Biology talk: Chris Martin of the Surh lab
  • Chemistry talk: Yoshihiro Ishihara of the Baran lab
  • Biology posters: Young zee Song of the Schimmel lab and David Marciano of the Griffin lab
  • Chemistry posters: Amanda Wolfe of the Boger lab and Kelvin Chan of the Yu lab


CA SOF Awards Travel Grants

The California campus Society of Fellows (SOF) announced three winners in the group’s second round of travel awards. Each winner receives a $1,000 grant to underwrite the costs of presenting scholarly activities at a national or international scientific conference. 

The three winning postdoctoral fellows and their research topics are:

  • Orion Berryman, Rebek lab: “Supramolecular catalysis with a light responsive cavitand”; American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Diego, March 2012
  • Katarzyna Kaczanowska, Finn lab: “Development of GABA B receptor positive modulators for nicotine dependence/medicinal chemistry”; Keystone Symposia: Addressing the Challenges of Drug Discovery, Tahoe City, March 2012
  • Inbar Friedrich Ben-Nun, Loring lab: “Generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from endangered species as a new tool for conservation management”; The Wildlife Society 18th Annual Conference, Hawaii, November 2011


Counseling Services: Ten Tips on Facing Your Fears

Prompted by the Halloween holiday, the nation’s annual flirtation with the frightful, the Counseling and Psychological Services office offers the latest in its Ten Tips series, “Ten Tips on Facing Your Fears,” providing advice on recognizing and dealing with fear in everyday life.

“In its most productive form, fear has the capacity to motivate us, to help us focus and, when needed, to help us take necessary action. But in high doses, fear has the capacity to subjugate and paralyze all in its wake,” explains Ten Tips author Daphne Lurie, director of the Scripps Research Counseling and Psychological Services office. For her tips, see the full article, available on the Counseling and Psychological Services website.





Send comments to: press@scripps.edu

California Campus Hosts ‘Atlantic Meets Pacific’ Tour
atlantic
More than two dozen participants in Atlantic magazine’s recent “Atlantic Meets Pacific” conference visited the Scripps California campus for a presentation on the institute’s research accomplishments and tours of the Barbas, Boger, Nicolaou, and Wilson labs. The three-day conference, featuring notable business, culture, and science figures, presented topics on the future of energy, health, and technology. Here Jean-Philippe Julien (left), research associate in the Wilson lab, describes a lab project with independent businessman Ian Fetterman (center) and Vanessa Pool, project support coordinator for the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology.