EDWARDSVILLE - The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Graduate School has announced the winners of its 2018 Visualizing Research Impacts (VRI) competition, which encourages SIUE scholars to show the results and impacts of their research to the public through images.
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A panel of alumni selected the work of Brigham Dimick and Katrina LaCombe from 15 faculty and staff entries that depicted a wonderfully rich diversity of creative activities and disciplines from across the institution, including entries from the sciences, engineering, arts, humanities and education.
Each winner received a $1,500 award to continue their scholarly activities.
- Most Creative Representation of Research Impact: “Vitreous Chambers” by Dimick, professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Art & Design
- Best Representation of Research Impact: “Learning Through Community” by LaCombe, art therapy counseling graduate student and research assistant in the Center for STEM Research, Education and Outreach
In “Virteous Chambers,” Dimick embedded photographs of two vulnerable protagonists – an endangered primate called Francois’ Langur and a fragile woman in a hospital bed – living in two distinct, oil and charcoal-drawn environments – a zoological habitat and a cancer ward.
“While this primate embodies the vulnerability of a declining species, the moral danger of this person represents the threat of personal loss,” Dimick said. “Through this artwork, I explore tensions between the potential for personal loss and the irrevocable disappearance of a species closely related to us.”
LaCombe is working on the SIUE STEM Center’s Digital East St. Louis research endeavor. In “Learning Through Community,” she wished to display the wealth of content being created among middle school students in the region while showcasing their educational growth.
Webpages about the environment as well as images and research materials depicting how music and sports have had ongoing influence in the industrialized city, created the dynamic background. At the forefront of the work is a monochromatic figure drawing, used to depict how the project has furthered the participants’ learning.
“When we analyzed student interviews, we found that the students loved showcasing their city and experiences,” LaCombe said. “I wanted not only to represent the data we have collected about motivations, but also the work participants put into their projects.”
By preparing the next generation of leaders in a knowledge-based economy, SIUE’s Graduate School fulfills the region’s demand for highly trained professionals. Graduate school offerings include arts and sciences, business, education, engineering, nursing and interdisciplinary opportunities. SIUE professors provide students with a unique integration of theoretical education and hands-on research experiences. Students can obtain graduate certificates or pursue master’s degrees, and be part of a supportive learning and rich intellectual environment that is tailored to the needs of adult learners. The Graduate School raises the visibility of research at SIUE, which ranks highest among its Illinois Board of Higher Education peers in total research and development expenditures according to the National Science Foundation. Doctoral programs are available in the Schools of Education (Ed.D.) and Nursing (DNP). The School of Engineering and the Department of Historical Studies feature cooperative doctoral programs (PhD), and the College of Arts and Sciences features an Environmental Resources and Policy cooperative PhD.
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