The Science and Comics Initiative

 

The University of Oregon Science and Comics Initiative unites two growing areas at the University of Oregon: Comics & Cartoon Studies and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). This program encourages interdisciplinary research and spurs curriculum development. We bring together faculty, students, and researchers from numerous departments, programs, and campus facilities to produce scholarship that utilizes both humanistic and scientific research practices.

Professors Tien-Tien Yu (Physics) and Kate Kelp-Stebbins (Comics and Cartoon Studies) began the initiative with a fellowship project in Spring 2020, pairing students from Comics Studies with Professors in Physics and Neuroscience to produce graphic narratives illustrating and explaining UO faculty members’ scientific research. Following the successful completion of the first stage of the Science and Comics initiative in Summer 2020, the program is now run by Luca Mazzucato (Institute of Neuroscience) and Kate Kelp-Stebbins. The program is expanding with applications across additional fields.

Goals include: the establishment of cross-campus workshops devoted to communicating scientific research through comics and sequential art; a course or courses in which Comics Studies students work alongside STEM students to produce compelling and visually engaging research descriptions; a research publication compiling the graphic narratives produced by Comics Studies/STEM students; gallery and museum shows in which student work is displayed for a public audience.

To learn more about the initiative and see a digital exhibit of the completed comics please visit the Science and Comics Initiative's website.

Recent Submissions

  • The Next Few Steps: a Patients's Journey Post-Stroke 
    Whiteman, Ellyce; Frederick, Rebecca (2024)
    This digitally-drawn comic follows a stroke patient learning about her options for mobility recovery post-stoke. It explores interventions including physical therapy, occupational therapy, passive braces, walking aids, ...
  • Oregon Ions 
    Bedrick, Anja; Allcock, David (2022)
    An informational comic on the science behind quantum computing, exploring the physical technology of Ion traps, the science of quantum entanglement, and what quantum computing could mean for the world. An approachable ...
  • Leaf Cutter Ants: How Small Insects Cut Through a Big World 
    Cohen, Sam; Schofield, Robert (2022)
    This comic explores the science behind how leaf cutter ants can cut through the same skin and leaves as much stronger animals, despite their relative lack of power. Leaf cutter ants and some other insects have extremely ...
  • Symmetry in Physics 
    Biersdorff, Page; Jeanty, Laura (2021)
    A hand-drawn comic exploring symmetry in nature and physics, from symmetry in our everyday lives to symmetry in the universe and in atomic particles. This comic also explains asymmetries like the asymmetry between matter ...
  • The Bell Game: Beating the Odds With Quantum Entanglement 
    Kyser, Margaret; Raymer, Michael (2022)
    This comic explores quantum entanglement through the lens of a game show. It celebrates the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics by explaining how quantum entanglement can be applied in new technology. Created in collaboration ...
  • Flocking Birds and Active Matter 
    Ellis, Madison; Toner, John (2022)
    In this hand-drawn comic a young witch learns from her crow familiar about how birds flock and are able to fly together in the correct direction. Created in collaboration between undergraduate cartoonist Madison Ellis ...
  • Medusa's Shadow 
    Platenberg, Radio; McMorran, Ben (2023)
    A stylized comic about a future where humans must hide from destructive aliens that explains quantum mechanics phenomena including the Elitzur-Vaidman effect and the Quantum Zeno Effect. Created in collaboration between ...
  • Adaptable Adolescent: the Wonder of Adolescent Brain Development 
    Gomez, Nina; Mills, Kate (2024)
    A comic describing the elasticity of the adolescent brain. Gomez and Mills explain how the brain matures and why being an adolescent can be confusing and challenging. Created in collaboration between undergraduate cartoonist ...
  • A Trip into Serotonin 
    McNamee, Audra; Mazzucato, Luca (2020)
    A comic about how serotonin impacts the brains perception of the world. Created in collaboration between undergraduate cartoonist Audra McNamee and UO researcher Luca Mazzucato as part of the Science and Comics Initiative, ...