Mental to Experimental

I worked with Fellow John Bohn and Ed Meyer who do a lot of theoretical work, but they were getting a lot of attention from researching the physics of a baseball and how humidity affects the spin of a baseball. John wanted to take theories about this subject and put it to experimental test and was trying to involve pitchers from the major league baseball team "The Rockies" in Denver. He was doing several presentations and wanted some pictures to help supplement his presentation. The photo shoot was rather fun because John Bohn is a really nice guy and has a pretty healthy sense of humor. He really enjoyed over exaggerating the experimental environment of his project because everybody knows that he is a theorist and theorist don't really have a budget for expensive lab environments.

If you are curious about John Bohn research about this subject, check out his pdf on his group's webpage here.

• Client: John Bohn Group


• Related Links: JILA Research Highlight article

BEC controlled by Feshbach physics

I worked with Juan Pino from the Deborah Jin group, and he was having a hard time trying to figure out a visual that would explain his research clearly. Of course he could have pull out his hard science data, but we wanted to make the information more accessible. I have been inspired by the Higgs Mechanism illustration which was a series of abstract cartoon illustrations that explains the concept almost perfectly. Explaining the Higgs Mechanism is not an easy thing to do and doing it visual was probably pretty tough to conceptualize initially. Check out the Higgs Mechanism illustration here and you get what I mean.

Anyways I thought Juan's concept would be the perfect testing ground for trying to do an abstract cartoon to make the idea of behind the science more clear and accessible. So I did a lot playing around with Illustrator, Photoshop, and just plain old pencil and paper to come up with a system of characters. Essentially these are little Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) hanging with a few "excited" atom wondering around. Juan's experiment basically cause the BECs to be more interactive with each other by using the Feshbach techniques.

The illustration took a little while hammer out all the exacting details from Juan, but it was a fun project. I even involved my assistant Mohamad Zainuddin to help me draw all the arms and legs. Everybody in the office was curious what we were doings because they kept seeing the sketches of body parts all over multiple desk.

• Clients: Deborah Jin Group, Juan Pino


• Related Links: JILA Research Highlight article

Microfluidics Device

Photo shoot for Ralph Jimenez's and Emily Gibson's microfluidics device. Ralph wanted some experiment apparatus shots for a grant proposal that he was putting together. I did a 3D rendering of one of the experiment's functions a littel while ago, so it was kinda cool to see the actual device that was performing the experimental process that I visualized already before.

• Clients: Ralph Jimenez Group, Emily Gibson


• Related Links: JILA Research Highlight article

X-ray Frequency Comb

I worked with Thomas Schibli and Dylan Yost from the Jun Ye Group on updating a laser schematic graphic that my predecessor created a few years ago which can be seen here. I just finished up a laser schematic graphic for Margaret Murnane a week before, so I was excersing a common style with the angle and color. I did add a new touch which was to add direction indicator arrows for this graphic because I want to emphasis that light is being repeating bouncing light in a cycle that is increasing. I wanted to make the graphic earlier so that it could have been used for Thomas's presentations, but my work load got in the way of having the graphic completed sooner. This schematic graphic actually represents several experiments, so I am probably going to be adapting this image more in the future, and this one might be turned into an animation.

• Clients: Jun Ye Group, Dr. Thomas Schibli, Dylan Yost


• Related Links: JILA Research Highlight article

Photoemission spectroscopy

I worked with the Debbie Jin group which didn't really give me that much feed back, so I had to do a lot of research and designing on my own. It felt like a lot of guess work that could have been answered if Debbie's Jin's grad students would have give me the minimal feedback. Regardless I pick up with an old design of the the magnetic quantum well that I did before. I did a "before n after" (aka "compare n contrast") technique. I was loosely told that here is this system of potassium atoms and then they "turn off" the magnetic quantum well at the same time as an RF pulse passes through. So I designed the whole "turn off" look of the right side which causes the reaction of the potassium I think it clearly shows how the some of the potassium atoms eject out of the well.

• Client: Deborah Jin Group


• Related Links: JILA Research Highlight article

Gravitational Potential

This illustration depicts how the gravitational potential on Earth varies during the year. Jun Ye was researching to see if the gravitational potential had any affect on atomic clocks position all over the world.

• Client: Jun Ye Group


• Related Links: JILA Research Highlight article

OSEP Industry Fair Poster

Ricki who helps runs the OSEP came to me to ask if I would make the Industry Fair Poster. She explained she wanted to attract as much attention from potential grad students and post docs as possible at JILA and around CU's campus. So I created the art work and designed the layout of the poster.

I took the job because I really wanted to make that one center piece. It has modern design and utilized a pretty wide color pallet. I wanted to make the center piece kinda data/technical/scientific related using simple circles and lines connecting the "Them" to the "You's". The circles and lines make the dramatica case of the connection of "Them" and "You's", but I also wanted it resemble a kinda hot air ballon if you stand back and look at casually. This would re-enforce the event type. Essentially the art can be easily interpreted in several ways, and I think all of which relate back to core princple idea that its a Industry Fair and the idea is to "GET A JOB". I also think the art isn't too distracting, and the information is still accessible.

• Client: Optical Science & Engineering Program (OSEP)

Electron wave function recolliding with CO2

• Clients: Henry Kapteyn & Margaret Murnane Groups


• Related Links: JILA Research Highlight article

Jim Bergquist photo shoot (@ NIST)

Photo shoot with Jim Berquist who currently works at NIST, but he has also works with a lot of the scientist at JILA. The photo was used for an Alumni Profile article that Julie and I started adding to the JILA Light & Matter publications. Jim is really an interesting and friendly character, and I enjoyed taking pictures of him. I had the opportunity to tour Jim's lab at NIST. I love field trips, but the security at NIST is very tight. We had to be questioned and have my gear checked out before entering the facilities.

Quantum Logic Clock

Looks like I am clock animation guy because NIST came back to me to work on the Quantum Logic Clock. I was asked develop and create an animation that explains how Till Rosenband’s Quantum Logic Clock works. NIST wanted an animation that could be used for the news media that would be easily understood by the public.

This was a very important project both because of the attention the scientific community giving for atomic clocks and establishing stronger co-op on projects with NIST and JILA.

This was a very difficult project mainly because of the organization and the very difficult schedule that Till Rosenband had. I also had to coordinate with the NIST people in Maryland on this project. The inner workings of the clock was very complicated, and I had trouble having people who are actually involved explain to me how it works and what possible ways to visualize this clock. Animation with a lot of specific details is tough because there is only so much screen space to put things. Personally this is one my failed animations as far being simple, clear, and actually makes the concept tangible. Part of the problem was not getting the technical feedback, and having non-science people in charge with dictating visual techniques. The deadline was very quick too, so things had to be done basically the way NIST wanted to be done.

The sad part is that after a week of completing this animation, I designed or figured out an amazing way to re-sequence the animation to be 20 times more effective and clear and visually awesome. I might re-design this animation if I have time, but thats impossible since at JILA I am booked on projects for the next 2 years. !yea! This project did re-enforce one thing for me. Working with busy client(s) who request something without explaining what is actually desired (so its a game of mind reading).

The figures and animations are published on the NIST’s website.

• Clients: NIST, Till Rosenband


• Related Links: NIST press release news article, Laser Focus World

Strontium Atomic Clock

I was asked develop and create an animation that explains how Jun Ye’s strontium atomic clock works. NIST wanted an animation that could be used for the news media that would be easily understood by the public. NIST also asked me edit the press release footage. This was a very important project both because of the attention the scientific community that Jun Ye was getting for his research and establishing stronger co-op on projects with NIST and JILA. The figures and animations are published on the NIST’s website, Science Express, United States of America Department of Commerce website.

• Clients: NIST & Jun Ye Group
  


• Related Links: NIST news article, JILA Research Highlight article, Science Express article,Department of Commerce news story, The Futurist article, Science Centric article, Information Center for Basic Science
  

NIST & Jun Ye Atomic Clock press release

NIST (public affairs) asked me to edit the press release for Jun Ye's Sr Atomic Clock. This meant they would send me the interview footage from their Maryland office archives they already shot, and I would edit the footage with the new animation sequences I also creating. The press release can be viewed on the NIST website with captions.

• Clients: NIST, Jun Ye Group


• Related Links: NIST news press release

DNA Laser Trap Schemes

These are technical figures that involves double helix of DNA and laser trap schemes.

• Client: Tom Perkins Group

Microfluidics Device

This was an interesting 3D project. I had to take a model that was created from data in a program called VMD that was then placed a 3D Program Blender and then convert to .obj file that Maya could read. Converting the .obj file to workable format in Maya took a while to get handle on, but it was worth it in the end. I got a pretty good rendering from Maya along with the control and adjustable-ity

• Clients: Ralph Jimenez Group, Emily Gibson


• Related Links: JILA Research Highlight article

Imaging steps in an X-Ray microscope

Richard Sandberg came to me asking for assistance with this designing this image for a potential PNAS publication cover. He came to me about 2 days before the deadline of the cover submission, so I just worked up what he had put together and gave it more professional touch. This image is not really cover type material and I explained to Richard how these editors at PNAS select their cover images. It is very hard designing covers for the type of research at JILA because the concepts are very complex and most of research hasn't been effectively visualized (nothing like medical field).

• Clients: Richard Sandberg, Henry Kapteyn & Margaret Murnane Groups


• Related Links: JILA Research Highlight article

Laser Atom Trap Graphs

This was quick 3D project that had to be done in Maya because illustrator couldn't handle the 3d components very well. This was a very quick project where I had only about a day to complete in all. I believe Jun Ye uses this figure for a journal paper and presentations. I forgot the scientific details of these graphs.

• Client: Jun Ye Group

DNA: Force Scale

The object of this image was to make a cover image that portrays tiny forces measurable via optical trap (atomic force microscopy). I worked with Tom Perkins who was doing research on the idea of using a double helix of DNA that acts as “spring” to measure the atomic forces. I imagined that best way to portray this scientific concept to a general audience was to design a compare and contrast metaphor to that of a traditional force spring scale that you would find in a physics class in a high school classroom.

I invited Jay Fittipaldi to work remotely with me on a few 3D components. He model the apple using Zbrush while I modeled and rendered everything else using Maya, Photoshop, and Illustrator. The team play with Jay helped me expand my experience with the Maya and Zbrush production pipeline.

• Client: Tom Perkins Group
  


• Related Links: JILA Research Highlight article
  

Atomic Clocks Sync

I worked very closely with Jun Ye and Andrew Ludlow on this project. I really like working with Jun Ye because he lets me actually design a new perspective about how visually comprehend the subject. I stepped away from the more traditional design asethetics that you may see in Science magazine, and used colors and saturation levels to really make the illustration figure pretty distinctive. I wanted the image to be accessible to wide range of audiences such as the public to the international science communities. The image can be interpreted very technically with the details, but only when you really want to get into the details and break the image down to speceifics. Otherwise I still think the image is pretty clear with it over-all visual literacy that this how two very complex atomic clocks sync and relate to each other in Boulder.

This is illustration basically compares to two clocks (one at JILA and the other NIST) and how they relate to each. Essentially these two clocks are sync together or they are used to compare the times to help measure accuracy levels. The clocks are located in two different places in Boulder and they are connected to each via fiber optics cable that run underground. Basically this a compare n' contrast of two systems. Jun Ye wanted to use gears as metaphor for the system to describe the frequency comb spectrum. The arrangement and types of gears are actually very specific technically and in their arrangement in the figure. The JILA Research Highlight article explains this figure pretty well if you wanted more information

• Clients: Jun Ye Group, Dr. Andrew Ludlow


• Related Links: JILA Research Highlight article, NIST news article